Jai Vora, Chair of the Entertainment, Sport & Media Community, reflects on the last 6 months of 2024, what the Community has achieved, what’s in store for the remainder of the year and plans for 2025.
What’s been going on?
The Entertainment, Sport & Media (ESM) Community has so far hosted 2 webinars and 1 networking event.
Webinar: Global entertainment, sport and media outlook: 2024
During this webinar we were joined by Clive Reeves, UK Sports Leader PwC, Daniel Bunyan, Partner, PwC and Stephanie Claxton, Senior Manager, PwC, who provided an overview of the industry throughout 2023 as well as analysed the strengths and weaknesses which will in turn set the scene for the year ahead in 2024.
We were fortunate to have been joined by 220 delegates, with many more of you listening on-demand. Some of the comments we received included:
“I found it very interesting and relevant for my role. I would definitely attend the next one.”
“Informative and hosted by knowledgeable speakers.”
“An exciting event and the speakers kept the audience engaged throughout the event due to depth of their practical knowledge and experience. Also got to know and learn interesting stats and trends about global entertainment and media outlook..”
“This webinar gave me a good insight into new trends in digital marketing and investment.”
Networking event: The future of football
We were delighted to chat with Tim Williams, CEO, Oxford United F.C., Kieran Maguire, Presenter, The Price of Football Podcast and Stephanie Hilborne OBE, Chief Executive, Women in Sport, all of whom delighted delegates with their unique insights on football finances and the future of the sport, as well as Q&A from the audience.
During the event they discussed:
How does football finance work?
- General overview
- Financial fair play/points deduction
What is the future of football?
- New independent regulator for English football
- The rise of women’s football – increased coverage, money and advertising
- Implementation/forward process
- Football in the community/ESG
We were joined by 100 delegates in person and 100 delegates streaming the conversation. Some of the comments we received included:
“Insightful briefings from the panel about the economic realities of football at the highest level, football at the mid-level and the power of harnessing enthusiasm for women's sports.”
“Very knowledgeable speakers going into detail on the topical issues behind the on-field activity. Very interesting to listen to.”
“I think the event was excellent. The insights they all shared were high value and I'll be interested in attending more events like this in the future.”
“Very interesting discussion on the football industry from the finance perspective”
“Great event. I would recommend to colleagues to attend for next time.”
Webinar: AI in the entertainment industry – what you need to know
During this discussion, we were joined by AI experts Tim Carter, Ecosystems & A.R.T. and Ian Pay, ICAEW who looked at the of role of AI within the entertainment industry, what accountants need to be aware of and what tools are available.
Some of the key topics that they covered included:
- What is AI?
- How it works
- How do you build the correct tools?
- How do you use these tools? - The principles of AI
- Fake vs. real
- Why humans are still responsible - How AI used in the entertainment industry
- Right management for AI tools
- Content manipulation such as watermarking, deepfakes and lip synchs - How can AI be used by accountants and their clients?
- Key issues you need to be aware of - Collaboration – navigating uncertainty
We were delighted that 430 delegates joined us live and put your questions to Tim and Ian, with many more of you listening on-demand. Some of the comments we received included:
“Very useful and insightful session, excited to know more about AI and how I can use it more at work.”
“Very interesting information and food for thought.”
“Well worth watching again.”
“Interesting session with a pragmatic focus.”
“So many great points addressed by the speakers.”
“Many great areas were addressed."
“An extremely useful and informative summary of the impact of AI.”
“Interesting overview of how AI is being applied in real life.”
What’s coming up in 2024?
The ESM Community are pleased to announce that we are planning a webinar for Q4 which will be an update to our Tax Credits webinar from 2023. Please note that this topic may be subject to change.
Looking ahead to 2025
As we enter the second half of the year, the Communities team are working alongside the advisory group to bring you more content in the New Year. We have been reviewing your feedback from previous events and are working towards putting our event calendar together for 2025.
Please note that these are subject to change and are not guarantees at this time.
*The views expressed are the author’s and not ICAEW’s
