He masters his subject. Since 2012, he has been at the head of Monaco Mediax, a company which notably manages the Television Festival and Sportel events. Former professional boxer Laurent Puons, proud co-founder of Fight Nation, a digital platform dedicated to combat sports, will welcome more than 2,000 participants and 180 exhibitors for the 33rd edition of Sportel.
This meeting dedicated to sports business aims to connect all the players in the sector. HAS At a time when negotiations for TV rights to Ligue 1 Uber Eats are at a standstill, the president of the Monegasque Boxing Federation details the journey of a sporting competition to reach our screens.
How would you summarize the Sportel in a few words?
It is a professional B2B market (business to business, a place for exchanges between companies Editor’s note). It is the largest meeting platform which allows all those involved in sports business to meet for three days in Monaco. To do networking, to meet community players, to sign contracts and thus save time because we have the possibility in a few days to meet all the players in this ecosystem.
How would you define sport business?
These are all the players such as television channels, all the leagues, the federations but also e-sport, the new technologies which are used today in sports business with technical solutions which make it possible to consult and follow the contents on smartphone. This now allows us to engage the fan. There are also all the companies involved in sports marketing and sports communications.
Taking a concrete example like La Liga (the Spanish football championship) which will be present at Sportel, can you explain how the resale of TV rights works?
La Liga is a seller. It is there to sell its sports season, as with Ligue 1 in France, to anyone who wants to buy it. There will be, for example, a French channel that will be interested, or a Mexican channel. All this depends on the players present in the championship and their nationalities. We have to see which country will be interested in buying these rights. I give an example that I master even better: boxing. I take Fight Nation, the company that I launched: we produce boxing fights in France. When we have a Frenchman against a Spaniard, we try to sell the rights to Spanish television. We are the ones who produce the event and depending on the program, we look at who we can resell the rights to depending on the interest of this or that country. And it’s the same for all sports.
In this diagram, we find the competition, the broadcaster but also the producer?
There is the owner of the TV rights, the potential buyer but there is also a production company which is often AMP Visual TV when they are large productions in France. Production is done according to the sport and the importance of the competition. It will vary at the technical level. For example, you have people who will follow motorcycle athletes with cameras for the Tour de France. It must be appropriate and up to the importance of the meeting to give the best rendering on the screen. At Fight Nation, we have 3 or 4 cameras. At Dazone Productions, you can go up to 9 or 10 cameras.
It’s all technical logistics…
And there is something very important as well: it is the sending of the signal, the Internet connection. Without fiber, if you don’t have an OB van, it doesn’t work.
How are the negotiations going between these three parties?
It’s not between the three parties because the production is paid for by the rights owner. So to continue with the example of La Liga, the championship pays a production company which will take care of the recording of the event. This content is then redistributed and sold either live or in archives. At Fight Nation, we have two years of archives that we sell to certain interested countries, notably to South American countries after a fight between a Frenchman and an Argentinian. It’s ultimately a matter of common sense. But when we talk about sports as prestigious as football or basketball it’s different because anyone can broadcast the NBA or football…
And how are negotiations managed?
It will depend on the content. I would be lying if I said I knew how La Liga negotiates. It’s millions, that’s for sure. People often ask me about turnover at Sportel but I don’t know. When you see the TV rights for football or basketball, you can imagine everything. But if you take the Spanish championship, the deal is made according to the number of seasons, the number of matches etc.
Does the exclusivity of rights come into play in the negotiations?
Absolutely. If I’m Amazon and I want exclusivity for Ligue 1 in France, I have to pay and it will be more expensive. Ligue 1 is the perfect example with Canal + then beIn Sports then Amazon and RMC. It’s like when you want to eat in a restaurant that you want to privatize. And you can even ask for exclusivity on the language.
How do you explain the enormous increase in the amount of TV rights, particularly for football?
Supply and demand. Football has increased but please believe that the price of other sports has decreased significantly. It depends on the popularity of the sport. What makes content valuable is the audience.
In Buenos Aires and Bali in 2024
If the Sportel Monaco is his “main event” as he calls it, Laurent Puons continues to develop his brand all over the world with the Sportel Rendez-vous. And the new spring destination for 2024 is called Buenos Aires.
“Until now we did a Singapore year, a Miami year, explains the boss of Sportel. Miami was doing well but was starting to lose speed. What also, and above all, motivated me to go to Argentina is that the participation of South America in Monaco is very low so we are going to bring the business to them there.”
The meeting will take place on May 14 and 15, 2024 and for the first time, the “business model” has changed. “These are investors who take charge of organizing the event,” continues Laurent Puons. “To be clear, we are paid to organize it there.” As for the edition which takes place in Bali, it is renewed for 2024 and will take place on February 22 and 23.
Soon present in the Middle East?
With the 2024 agenda complete, the general director of Monaco Mediax does not rule out a few surprises. “We are in discussions with potential investors in the Middle East with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain.”
A surprise that could arrive sooner than expected. “We like challenges so if tomorrow Saudi Arabia asks me to organize a show at the end of 2024 we will do what is necessary to ensure that it is done at that time but in a different format with high-level conferences and meeting points you for networking.”
The Sportel Awards this Monday
As with every edition, Sportel will be entitled to its awards ceremony on Monday from 7:30 p.m. “The goal is to highlight sports that are not highlighted elsewhereexplains Laurent Puons. These are all these sports where athletes make the same sacrifices as footballers, rugby players, basketball players but who do not have the chance to be highlighted in the same way.