Big News From ONE:IGNITE Thailand
The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition took center stage in Bangkok, Thailand as some of Asia’s top leaders from the sports, brand, and business industries converged at the luxurious W Bangkok on Thursday, 20 February for ONE Championship’s second sports business event of the year.
The event kicked off with a welcome address from Jitinat “Plai” Asdamongkol, President of ONE Championship Thailand.
He spoke about the profound effect martial arts and sports have had on him throughout his life, and his desire to help unite his home country through the power of the sport.
He also touched on the recent agreement ONE Championship signed with the Sports Authority Of Thailand (SAT) to bring ONE Hero Series: Muay Thai to the masses. The program is expected to launch in the second quarter of 2020.
“We are not just wanting to create events and entertainment spectacles, but we want to find the partnerships that can change the face of humanity and change the world,” he said.
Plai was then joined by Vachara Vacharaphol, the CEO of Thairath TV & Thairath Online, on stage for a fireside chat.
Vacharaphol spoke about the importance of sports content, the behavioral patterns of the viewing audience, and the high value of a live broadcast.
He also talked about the emotional connection viewers have to brands and their sports heroes, as well as offering content on television, mobile devices, and tablets.
Soon thereafter, ONE Championship Senior Vice President and Head Of Global Partnerships Sanchit Garg stepped onto the stage. He spoke about the immense growth of the esports industry, talked about the major issues plaguing the ecosystem, and explained how ONE Esports plans to solve those issues.
Also, host Wuttinan “Wuddy” Phuengprayoon invited four panelists to the stage to share their insights into the esports industry.
Those participants were Samart Benjamin Assarasakorn, Executive Secretary at the Thailand Esports Federation, Jonah Kadish, the Director of Learning & Development at AppsFlyer, Ferdinand Gutierrez, the Co-Founder & CEO of Ampverse, and Jason Teo, Head of Business Development at ONE Esports.
The highlight of the night began when ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong delivered the keynote address and surprised the audience with the global unveiling of The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition.
The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition will be the latest version of the hit reality television program, where contestants participate in a series of business competitions with the goal of winning a prestigious job and contract.
“I’m very proud to be the very first Thai person to be on the global stage of The Apprentice where 16 contestants from around the world will be in a series of business competitions and physical challenges to compete to be my protégé and [win] a 250,000 dollar job,” Sityodtong stated.
“This is a huge opportunity — not only to ignite on a global level, but we are going to have deep, local stories as well. We’re going to choose contestants all over Asia. We’re going to fly into Thailand, fly into Korea, fly into Japan, and tell the stories, the sights, the sounds, and the cultures, as well as the dream of working at ONE Championship.”
Filming for The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition will begin in the next few months and the show will broadcast to countries all over the world in the fourth quarter of 2020.
The ONE:IGNITE series of sports business events heads to Jakarta, Indonesia next in April.
