UK’s Channel 4 Snaps up European Triathlon TV Show

The European Triathlon Union is delighted to announce another excellent development in its television and marketing strategy, following the hard work of TV partners HotHouse Productions in achieving agreement from Channel 4 television to commission a special programme focusing on the ETU European Cup.

‘This is a tremendous breakthrough for the sport,’ Martin Perry, of HotHouse Productions, said. ‘People have been hammering on Channel 4’s door to get a triathlon show on to the channel, but this is the first time that the station has said yes. Obviously, we are extremely pleased.’

Plans are still being formulated by Channel 4 and HotHouse for what will be a 30-minute programme to be transmitted on Saturday mornings and featuring the most recent event in the ETU European Cup, a series of prize money races staged throughout the continent during the summer, and featuring some of the top triathletes from around the world.

‘We’ve looked at other sports programmes that have been shown in the same slot,’ Perry said, ‘and they deliver audiences of nearly 500,000, which would be by far the best exposure triathlon will have received in Britain since the London Triathlon was shown on national network television a couple of years ago.

‘Clearly we are making progress,’ said Perry, who has also secured an agreement from SNTV for global distribution of HotHouse’s coverage of the ETU European Cup series.

Additionally, this week’s ETU European Championships in Carlsbad, the Czech Republic, will be the first triathlon to receive live coverage on the pan-European sports channel, Eurosport, since the Olympic Games in Sydney last year.

The men’s and women’s races in Carlsbad will also both be distributed by the European Broadcasting Union. Czech TV will be showing the event live, and several other national broadcasters have shown an interest in taking pictures from what promises to be one of the highlight events of the international triathlon year.

For further information, please contact:

European Triathlon Union (ETU)
Erika Koenig-Zenz
Tel: +43 316 830796
Fax: +43 316 830739
E-mail: tri-duathlon.koenig@magnet.at