Jason O’ Sullivan considers himself lucky enough to combine his three passions – sports, technology and media – through the majority of his working career. Now, as vice-president, Digital Media, ESPN Star Sports, his task is to reach out to sports fans across the globe, through new media platforms such as online and mobile. O’ Sullivan talks to Tech&U.

Q: How do you see the future of digital media, especially in relation

to sports?

A: The future of sports in the digital realm will be to offer users a total sports experience with a one-stop sports destination, which is what we’re doing with the new version of www.espnstar.com.

We understand sports fans very well and we know that fans need to get in-depth and updated sports news, scores in real-time, analysis from respected figures in the sports world, and because sports is all about action, they expect multimedia content as well.

The ultimate goal for us is to serve sports fans across the region and provide them the ability to obtain information at their fingertips with www.espnstar.com as their preferred destination for sports.

Q: What would you consider the main challenges that you face in the course of your work?

A: There are a number of challenges. The rapid change in technology and methods of consuming content means we need to constantly evolve our content and product strategy to ensure we are reaching sports fans no matter what device they use. We also need to consider how, as a commercial organisation, we are creating products and services that allow us to increase the number of revenue streams to the company.

Q: Do you see growth for your business as you look forward?

A: The digital media industry in Asia-Pacific as a whole is growing at the moment and we want to leverage on that. At the moment, growth plans for the Web site include a target to double our page and by using technology, customise content for users looking for different sports content. There is the possibility of developing other variants in the future for particular markets. Looking forward, we have the flexibility to further develop the Web site to include local language services in the future.

Overall, for the digital media business, we are in a position where we can produce content specifically for the platform that it will be consumed. For our new media initiatives, being engaging, entertaining and interactive are key to connecting with our audience and reinforcing our brand.

Biodata

O’Sullivan joined ESPN Star Sports in 2006. He is responsible for managing ESS’ online business, and oversees the development and deployment of the company’s Internet and broadband strategy, as well as the development of innovative applications and products to grow the online business.

O’Sullivan has been a member of ESPN International’s new media business team for the past six-and-a-half years based in the UK, where he created, developed and had overall responsibility for its football Web site, ESPNsoccernet.