MUMBAI: Less than five months before the start of the Olympic Games, Athens will host the International Association of Athlectics Federations (IAAF) World Television Seminar.

The two day forum for TV professionals to meet and exchange ideas of how to provide the best possible coverage of this Olympic sport on television takes place on 29 and 30 March.

 
IAAF president Lamine Diack was quoted in a company release saying, "It has been 10 years since the last IAAF World Television Seminar. It is vital for the sports future livelihood that we reconsider and redefine the manner in which it is broadcast. The competition with other sports for television spectators is becoming increasingly fierce. Athletics needs to provide programming that is exciting, cost efficient and also has marketing potential. In short, our sport should be attractive to the broadcasters."

One of the seminar's goals will be to introduce up-to-date, dynamic television coverage of athletics to a new generation of TV producers so as to improve the status of the sport among the viewers. It will also look for ways in which harmony can be brought about in the coverage of track and field athletics worldwide. It will also find out new means to better inform the spectators in the stadium without harming the television product.

The seminar is being organised by the IAAF television commission, chaired by IOC member Alex Gilady. The delegates will include television producers and directors including representatives from Athens Olympic Broadcasting (AOB), IAAF's marketing partner Dentsu as well as timing and data companies involved in the organisation of athletics competitions.