Some of the participants of the TV seminar at the Aspire centre (© Doha 2010 LOC)
Doha, QatarThe organising committee of the World Indoor Championships in coordination with the IAAF Television Commission hosted a broadcasting seminar in Qatar this week for broadcasters from around the world.
The Doha organizing committee as presented by its Media & Broadcasting Division, and the IAAF’s Television Commission was led by commission Chairman Alex Gilady and IAAF Director of Broadcasting Ernest Obeng.
The participants included members of the IAAF TV Commission, as well as representatives of host broadcaster Al Jazeera, Europea and Africa media rights holders IEC Sport, and AMS/Dentsu, the worldwide marketing partner of the 13th IAAF World Indoor Championships.
The TV seminar was designed to give broadcasters from nations around the world a glimpse of what it takes to broadcast such a large sporting event with multiple disciplines. The speakers discussed modern techniques as well as new challenges they face every day. Gilady and Obeng were joined by other TV Commission members with extensive experience including Tapani Parm, Adrian Metcalf and Kalevi Uusivuori.
Parm was a Director for the host broadcasters at the Olympic Games at Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008, whilst Metcalfe was previously head of sport at Channel 4 at its launch in 1983, and later headed up pan-European sports channel Eurosport. Metcalfe a former British athlete is a retired Olympic and European medallist who specialized in the 200m and 400m. He currently serves as an adviser and producer on the IAAF television commission.
Another big industry name that came to Doha was Kalevi Uusivuori who along with Tapani Parm received a special mention at Lausanne in December 2008 at the Olympic Golden Rings ceremony, which honours the world of television for its success in broadcasting each installation of the Games. They won director’s honours as part of the team that produced the Opening and Closing ceremonies of the Beijing Games in 2008.
In parallel to the seminar, the IAAF and the WIC organising committee hosted a World Broadcasters Meeting where delegates of the principal guest broadcast delegations conversed with representatives of the rights holders and the host broadcasters Al Jazeera, covering both the broadcast plan as well as strategic objectives.
Alex Gilady said the IAAF is confident that Doha is ready for the World Indoor Championships.
“The WIC Organising Committee is prepared to meet all operational and logistical challenges,” Gilady said. “Their production plans are comprehensive and we are ready to pick up the pace and deliver world-class sporting entertainment coverage in partnership with the host broadcasters Al Jazeera.”
Gilady is a Senior Vice President of NBC Sport and was a member of the Coordination commissions for the Olympics in Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and is also on the commission for the London Olympiad in 2012.
Unrivalled facilities, housed in and around the world's largest purpose built indoor sports arena, further ensure Doha 2010 will be one of the foremost sporting events this year, says Abdulla Al Zaini, Event Director of the World Indoor Championships in Athletics.
“Enticing an ever-increasing number of visitors, from sporting stars to global policymakers, whilst proving unparalleled television entertainment in this category is a major challenge, but one that we are prepared for,” said Al Zaini.
The IAAF Television commission’s three-day visit concluded with internal production meetings with Al Jazeera and a site visit to the Aspire Dome in Doha to preview the broadcast facilities, which are among the best in the world. The WIC Organising Committee provided the delegates with overviews of the facilities and services planned for the upcoming World Indoor Championships in March 2010.
Doha 2010 LOC