Sports marketing forum in Mumbai

SportzBiz 2003, India's first ever sports marketing forum will be held in Mumbai on Friday, January, 24. The event is expected to be the largest ever congregation of sports marketers, broadcasters, advertisers, media planners, sports associations, sports management companies and sports celebrities in the country.

The half-day forum, having the theme, 'Sports Marketing: The New Frontier' will discuss the status of various issues facing the business of sport in India and lay out a path for future development.

Speakers at the forum include BCCI vice-president Kamal Morarka, Doordarshan Director General Dr S Y Quraishi, Sony CEO Kunal Dasgupta, Nimbus chairman Harish Thawani, Indian Hockey Federation president K P S Gill and Indian badminton ace Pulella Gopichand.

Around 300 delegates are expected to attend the seminar, which will deliberate on four topics:

1. Business of Sports... Is sports giving you the right bang for your marketing buck?

2. Cricket and beyond cricket

3. Sports and television: harnessing the power of television

The future: can the full potential of sports marketing be realised in India?

Globally, the business of sports is estimated at about US$25 billion. In India, sports has been scaling new heights, with cricket being the front runner. While cricket rakes in billions of marketing rupees, other disciplines like football, tennis, golf, badminton, motor racing, hockey, chess, squash are still to catch up.