At the SportAccord Convention 2017 in Aarhus, Denmark, FIVB General Secretary Fernando Lima addressed the increasing media exposure for the sport of volleyball – starting with the Rio 2016 Olympics.
Lima explained how the FIVB promoted and maximized the media exposure at Rio 2016, to raise the public’s interest in the volleyball in Brazil and the world.
At the games, volleyball and beach volleyball were the flagship events, with more hours of volleyball shown than any other sport during the Games – with a total of 2,634,677,00 hours of volleyball and beach volleyball shown. Spectators at the Games thought the sport was of special interest, as well, having purchased nearly 98 percent of the tickets available for volleyball events.
During Lima’s presentation, he showed the journey the FIVB took to building up this kind of media exposure and maintaining their vision of making volleyball the number one family sport in the world. The FIVB harnessed the latest sports technology to enhance sports presentation and promote a more meaningful connection with the fans and viewers. These new changes included light shows, music and introducing ways for the fans to interact with certain situations during a match.
The challenge system was also introduced, much like in tennis, in the past year. This system helped so the game was not decided by human error, giving the athletes the best chances for success.
In addition to these innovations, Lima spoke on a proposal that will be submitted to the FIVB Board soon – exploring a name change. Lima explained that the change was necessary to help enhance the branding and to improve communication with fans and stake holders. Other sports federations have in recent years changed their names including sailing, rugby and wrestling.
Lima is confident in the idea, expecting it to be approved by the board and the change to occur soon.
It is not yet known the names the FIVB are exploring.
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