| MUMBAI:
Tokyo 2016, which is the city's endeavour to win the rights to host the 2016 Olympic
Games, will generate the greatest prime-time TV audience in Olympic history, drawing
from the 3 billion consumers within a 3 hour time zone. The
Bid’s Deputy DG Hidetoshi Maki made these remarks at the Ispo SpoBis global
conference in Munich. Prime
time broadcasts for a Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games would cover the hundreds
of millions of newly emerging affluent Asians over the next decade. Maki pointed
out that this would provide the Olympic Movement with unprecedented opportunities
to engage with new mass markets for the sport industry - generating economic benefits
on a global scale. He
says, “When
you look at sponsor brand names, you can see that many Japanese companies support
football, athletics and swimming. This reflects how much Japanese people love
sports. “Hosting
the Games on the world's finest stage creates the best environment for inspirational
performances and heroic achievements. These accomplishments, and the way people
all around the world identify with them, is, I believe, the basis of the sport
business, and where opportunities lie.” The
speech also saw Hidetoshi Maki take delegates through the characteristics that
make Tokyo the perfect host city for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games from
a sports marketing perspective. As one of the world’s most populous urban
centres, and with the biggest GDP, the Tokyo Metropolitan Area is home to a sports-loving,
brand-conscious population able to respond to industry initiatives. Recent
intelligence sourced from SponsorMetrix, ZenethOptimedia and ABU has noted that
“while Tokyo and Japan offer highly attractive markets in themselves, Tokyo’s
geographic location provides great opportunity to the IOC to reach Asia’s
large and rapidly growing population. With almost three quarters of a billion
TV homes and a potential TV audience of three billion in the 57 nations within
the Asian Broadcasting Union, a Tokyo Games has the potential to provide to the
Olympic Movement its largest prime time audience ever. “Asia’s
TV audience is not only large; it consists of Asia’s newly affluent young
consumers who are highly receptive to new trends, products and brands.” Maki’s
speech also highlighted the economic strength of Tokyo's bid as the world enters
a global recession. 23 out of 34 venues already exist, and the Tokyo Metropolitan
Govt will have already allocated $4 billion for Olympic projects by the end of
2009. Additionally,
as a futuristic city long synonymous with innovation and technological advancement,
Japan’s vibrant capital is the perfect place to introduce new products and
services. Hidetoshi Maki added that Tokyo’s position as a gateway to Asia
brings the sports marketing industry access to the fastest-developing continent
on earth, and potentially the largest ever TV viewing audience for an Olympic
and Paralympic Games in 2016. Tokyo
2016 chairman and CEO Dr Ichiro Kono says, “Tokyo
2016 is committed to setting the finest Olympic and Paralympic stage through an
innovative and ultra-compact Games concept. This will bring unprecedented economic,
sporting and social opportunities to millions of people in Tokyo, Japan and beyond.” The
Tokyo 2016 Games vision places 95 per cent of competition venues within 8 km of
the main Olympic stadium in central Tokyo, providing an average travel time of
just 17 minutes for competitors. With 23 of 34 necessary venues already built,
the financial sustainability of Tokyo 2016 reinforces its attractiveness to investors.
Placing the Games in the midst of 35 million passionate sports fans will help
to ensure full stadiums and a festive, welcoming atmosphere for international
visitors. | 
