Live Sport | Are the fans driving innovation?

About the speaker

Andy has more than 20 years of experience in the sports research industry. In that time he has successfully created, managed and delivered research programmes for rights holders, teams and brands across a wide range of sports.

Andy has led projects for clients such as UEFA, WWE, Barclays, The Premier League, Liverpool FC, The EFL, The Eredivisie, The R&A, WRC and the LTA.

Within the Sport team at Kantar, Andy and his colleagues are focused on helping stakeholders from all sides of the sporting world achieve the best possible understanding of fans, and how brands and properties can optimise their engagement with them.

About the speaker

Matt has over 25 years’ experience in telecoms, media and entertainment and has been voted in the top 50 most influential people in online TV for four years running. In 2017, he was awarded the TV Connect People’s Choice award for the ‘Person who made the biggest impact on the connected entertainment industry’.

Within BT Sport he is responsible for developing the broadcaster’s mobile capabilities and long-term mobile strategy.

As part of the wider BT Group Matt is also developing the technology strategy for the Broadcast, Media & Entertainment over 5G. This encompasses an end to end approach incorporating both contribution and distribution of media.

About the speaker

Melissa Lawton is responsible for Live Sports Production at Facebook and more recently at Oculus as well. She’s charged with helping Facebook’s partners to foster a deeper and more meaningful connection between fans and the broadcasters, teams, leagues and athletes they follow through video content. As Head of Production for Facebook’s exclusive rights for La Liga in South Asia, Copa Libertadores and Champions League in LATAM, Melissa is redefining the live sports experience for social audiences.

Melissa joined Facebook after five years as the Head of Live Content at Red Bull Media House, working specifically on the creation and expansion of Red Bull’s media network, Red Bull TV. In this capacity she oversaw a global production team who produced premium live third party sports, music and cultural events and many ‘beyond the ordinary’ Red Bull competitions across the globe.

Her 20-year career has encompassed long-term production roles on prestigious international events such as the Beijing and Sydney Olympics, FIFA World Cup in Korea/Japan, and Commonwealth Games in India, as well as productions in Australia on live motorsports, magazine shows and studio productions.

Melissa started her career as a sports journalist for The Age Newspaper. She holds an MA in International Relations from the University of New South Wales and a BA in Journalism from RMIT. She currently works in Facebook’s New York office and resides in New Jersey with her husband and two daughters.

About the speaker

With close to 20 years’ industry experience, Tony is responsible for providing the most cutting-edge live and digital experiences for fans across the globe.

Since he joined Deltatre back in 2006, he’s witnessed huge changes within the digital and live spaces. Today, he says, “organizations are more conscious than ever before to go beyond the live event and really get to know their fans. They want to engage with them, and essentially; maintain a strong relationship.

Tony is now in his 10th role at Deltatre. As a manager, for Tony, building a team culture where people feel comfortable to share ideas is essential. Outside of work, he is a keen cyclist, and regularly supports charities with sponsored rides.