The Grimaldi Forum in Monaco will once again welcome a host of delegates and attendees ©Grimaldi Forum

Social networking platforms such as Facebook and Twitter and their impact on the digital sporting media landscape are set to feature prominently during SPORTELMonaco, which gets underway tomorrow.

The event, which attracts a range of representatives from businesses as well as governing bodies and media organisations, runs until Thursday (October 27).

It allows for some of the sports media rights industry’s most important figureheads to network and discuss business plans, with the conference returning to its usual annual home after the most recent edition of SPORTELAsia in Singapore earlier this year.

The 2016 convention here begins with a seminar entitled Social media: from ancillary option to primary distribution platform, with networking sessions and other talks also due to take place.

The opening day concludes with the TV Sports Awards, which are making their second appearance at SPORTELMonaco following the first-ever staging of the ceremony last year.

A range of lucrative awards will be on offer, including “Best TV Rights Deal”, won in 2015 by Eurosport after they struck a deal to become the continent’s Olympic Games broadcaster, and “Best Live Event Coverage”.

A range of deals and partnerships are likely to be signed during the four-day convention ©SPORTEL
A range of deals and partnerships are likely to be signed during the four-day convention ©SPORTEL

Head of global sports partnerships at Facebook Dan Reed will then deliver a presentation on Tuesday (October 25), followed by a session entitled #GoLive with Twitter: How sport connects and dominates on Twitter and how you can build a global, mobile fanbase to monetise live sporting moments.

The SPORTEL Awards Show, featuring the Golden Podium Competition and the Sports Book Prize, then come to the fore in the evening.

The ceremony is expected to be attended by a number of illustrious guests, including International Olympic Committee member Prince Albert of Monaco among various sporting greats.

SPORTEL will host their first-ever law conference on Wednesday (October 26), which will deal with a range of topics and issues including the impact of new digital technologies on the sports rights market.

Organisers will be hoping this year’s convention will attract even more delegates and companies than last year, where 2,786 attendees from 75 countries took part.

Highlights from the 2015 edition included boules officially launching their bid for inclusion at the 2024 Olympic Games and the International Basketball Federation giving more details on their changed competition calendar, which comes into effect from November 2017.

insidethegames is an official media partner of SPORTEL.