Infront Signs Ice Hockey and Handball Agreements with Czech TV
Zug, Switzerland, 3 November 2004 - Infront Sports & Media has reached two major, long-term agreements with Czech TV for the exclusive television rights of the 2007 – 2011 IIHF World Championships in ice hockey – an annual event - and the European Handball Championships between 2004 and 2010, which take place every two years.
The new agreements cover the territory of the Czech Republic. Czech TV is a public free-to-air broadcaster for the Czech Republic and the agreements will ensure maximum coverage and audiences for these two sports, which are very popular in the region.
Ice hockey is the number one sport in the Czech Republic, so the deal represents significantly good news both for Czech TV and ice hockey fans across the country. Czech TV has been involved in the Championships before, as the official broadcaster of the IIHF World Championships up until 1997 and again since 2001. It is now expressing its commitment to the sport by securing the rights for the next
seven competitions. Czech TV will broadcast the majority of the games live.
Czech TV was the host broadcaster for the most recent IIHF World Championship, which took place in the Czech Republic earlier this year and was an outstanding success. There were a record 552,000 spectators, the largest number ever and the event reached 750 million television viewers worldwide during more than 1700 hours transmission time (70 % of it live). These statistics have confirmed the
IIHF World Championship as the biggest annual winter sports event in the world.
Through a current, existing agreement with Infront, Czech TV will also be broadcasting the 2005 IIHF World Championship in Austria and the 2006 event in Latvia.
The 2007 IIHF World Championship will take place in Russia, the current title holders Canada will host the 2008 event and in 2009 the privilege falls to Switzerland.
In a separate agreement with Infront, Czech TV will also provide the Czech Republic with television coverage of the European Handball Championships until 2010, starting with the 2004 Women's European Handball Championship in Hungary between 9th – 19th December. The agreement also includes television broadcast rights for the 2006, 2008 and 2010 Men's and Women's European Handball Championships.
'This agreement represents a major extension to the ongoing relationship between Infront and Czech
TV,' commented Olivier Seibert, Executive Director Media for Infront. 'Ice hockey and Handball are important sports for Infront and we are pleased that our very long-standing relationships with both federations – the IIHF and the EHF – are bringing about impressive growth in television coverage. Long-term agreements such as this are the right way to build audiences'.
For further information, please contact:
John Kristick
Infront Sports & Media AG
Tel. +41-41-723 15 15
Fax. +41-41-723-1516
info@infrontsports.com
www.infrontsports.com
The new agreements cover the territory of the Czech Republic. Czech TV is a public free-to-air broadcaster for the Czech Republic and the agreements will ensure maximum coverage and audiences for these two sports, which are very popular in the region.
Ice hockey is the number one sport in the Czech Republic, so the deal represents significantly good news both for Czech TV and ice hockey fans across the country. Czech TV has been involved in the Championships before, as the official broadcaster of the IIHF World Championships up until 1997 and again since 2001. It is now expressing its commitment to the sport by securing the rights for the next
seven competitions. Czech TV will broadcast the majority of the games live.
Czech TV was the host broadcaster for the most recent IIHF World Championship, which took place in the Czech Republic earlier this year and was an outstanding success. There were a record 552,000 spectators, the largest number ever and the event reached 750 million television viewers worldwide during more than 1700 hours transmission time (70 % of it live). These statistics have confirmed the
IIHF World Championship as the biggest annual winter sports event in the world.
Through a current, existing agreement with Infront, Czech TV will also be broadcasting the 2005 IIHF World Championship in Austria and the 2006 event in Latvia.
The 2007 IIHF World Championship will take place in Russia, the current title holders Canada will host the 2008 event and in 2009 the privilege falls to Switzerland.
In a separate agreement with Infront, Czech TV will also provide the Czech Republic with television coverage of the European Handball Championships until 2010, starting with the 2004 Women's European Handball Championship in Hungary between 9th – 19th December. The agreement also includes television broadcast rights for the 2006, 2008 and 2010 Men's and Women's European Handball Championships.
'This agreement represents a major extension to the ongoing relationship between Infront and Czech
TV,' commented Olivier Seibert, Executive Director Media for Infront. 'Ice hockey and Handball are important sports for Infront and we are pleased that our very long-standing relationships with both federations – the IIHF and the EHF – are bringing about impressive growth in television coverage. Long-term agreements such as this are the right way to build audiences'.
For further information, please contact:
John Kristick
Infront Sports & Media AG
Tel. +41-41-723 15 15
Fax. +41-41-723-1516
info@infrontsports.com
www.infrontsports.com