Kelsen Butler is Managing Director of Sports Inc an independent television production company focusing on sports related programming and content.

 
Kelsen gave us a very entertaining address looking at his background and the establishment of the company Sports Inc and the adventures he’s had with that company.
 
Kelsen is a Whakatane boy educated at Sacred Heart College in Auckland as a boarder. For him Sacred Heart was a sporting Club Med as once the day boys left the board is liable to place cricket tennis rugby or anything else that took their fancy.  The was some school work.
 
Kelsen’s education at Sacred Heart was followed by study at Waikato University doing a marketing degree.

 

After leaving University Kelsen's first job was at the Institute of sport and health on Khyber pass. He met many of the movers and shakers of the New Zealand sporting world at that business, cricketers, rugby players Team NZ and such like. Kelsen commented that he met Jim Blair the then fitness guru of Auckland Rugby who developed the concept of players, in rugby, training for their positional requirements.

 

After the Institute of sport and healthy moved to TV in New Zealand as it sports marketing manager.
 
In those days TVNZ had rights to all sports broadcasting in New Zealand.

 

For Kelsen this role was a combination of his passion and work. He dealt with all sports bodies in New Zealand. A highlight of his time at TVNZ was  his involvement in the team New Zealand return Parade in 1995 after the America’s Cup when in San Diego.
 
One of the benefits for Kelsen whilst working at TVNZ was that he was able to work with all the sports presenters, Keith Quinn, Brendan Telfer, Jeff Bryan and similar.
 
Kelsen was working at TV New Zealand when Sky first acquired rugby rights leaving TV New Zealand with only free to air rights.  The rugby in this case was broadcast 1hr after the live broadcast.  He quickly discovered that placing ads, even in a delayed broadcast, in the gap between tries being scored and a conversion being taken did not go down well with the sporting public of New Zealand.
 
In 2002 he and Brendan Telfer established sports Inc.

 

The company is a niche enterprise specialising in sports related programming and content. Initially the focus was on golf but it has extended its range to other sports including woman’s rugby, league and similar. It supplies content to program such as the golf show and similar. It supplies content to tourism boards especially in the golf market.
 
Highlights for Kelsen were having a cameraman at the 2004 Ranfurly shield challenge between the Bay of Plenty and Auckland which the Bay of Plenty won. Kelsen accompanied the team back to Tauranga and participated in the big celebration that followed. That was not on camera however.
 
His son Mitchell Clay Butler's hero is Mohammed Ali. Kelsen was able to take his son Mitchell,  to the opening of the Mohammed Ali centre and there his son not only met the great man and but also gave speech at the opening of the centre.
 
Kelsen told us about the effect of Michael Campbell winning  the U.S. Open in 2005. Every golf mad father was sending videos to or asking Sports Inc to video their sons as their sons were the greatest thing since Tiger Woods/Michael Campbell.

 

However one young person that Sports Inc did film was a young lady called Lydia Koh. She was first on camera when she was seven years old playing at Pupuke Golf club. The footage showed Lydia holing out from off the green. Lydia was then and remains a lovely young lady.

 

Kelsen has been through Sports Inc been able to go to the Masters at Augusta and with media passes secured by Craig Heatley (himself head of media for Augusta) Kelsen has been inside the rope rubbing shoulders with the players. He made the comment that the media are looked after so well at Augusta that they undertake the PR for the event rather than the club itself.
 
Sports Inc does a lot of work with tourism boards here and overseas. When he was Prime Minister John Key saw the value in golf tourism which generates for New Zealand about $400 million a year in tourism revenue. This is because golf tourists tend to stay in the country longer, higher larger cars to carry the clubs and generally spend money on accommodation food drink and green fees.

 

One of the events that sports Inc is running is the Steve Adams charity tournament which attracts support from the black caps, all Blacks and top golfers such as Ryan Fox. Indeed Kelsen has already been told by Ryan Fox that he will be back for this year’s event.

 

Kelsens stories showed that he has had an entertaining career which looks like it will continue for the forseable future.
 
Kelsen’s address was warmly received by members.