Infront Signs IIHF World Championship Agreement with DSF Until 2011
Zug, Switzerland / Ismaning, Germany, 7 April 2008 – Infront Sports & Media, the long-term marketing partner of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), has reached an agreement with the German free-to-air broadcaster DSF (Deutsches SportFernsehen) covering the broadcast rights for four editions of the IIHF World Championship, the supreme event in ice hockey.
This event takes place every year and the new contract will run from 2008-2011, including thetournaments in Canada (Halifax / Quebec), Switzerland (Berne / Zurich-Kloten), Germany (Cologne /Mannheim) and Slovakia (Bratislava / Kosice).
DSF has exclusive rights to all 56 games and will show at least nine games of each event and all games of the German national team. This minimum coverage obligation is also valid in the case that Team Germany is relegated from the Top Division to Division 1. It covers the territory of Germany and includes all media rights.
“DSF has been a broadcast partner of the International Ice Hockey Federation in the past and has now expanded its role. It is a loyal partner to the sport and will ensure strong free-to-air coverage of the IIHF World Championship. This will further build the audience for the sport and will also be good news for sponsors who value the German market,” said Bruno Marty, Infront’s Executive Director Winter Sports.
Oliver Reichert, Managing Director of DSF said: “As the rights holder to the next four IIHF World Championships, with the bonus of the 2010 tournament taking place on home soil, DSF is giving this enthralling sport the long-term platform it deserves in the German market. Ice hockey is a television winner that fits perfectly with the DSF. This also means that the German National Team will get a broader and much better platform.”
About the IIHF World Championship
Each year, in April/May, the 16 best national ice hockey teams in the world come together to play 56 exciting games to establish the new IIHF World Champion. The 2008 IIHF World Championship will be played in Canada in the cities of Halifax (Metro Center) and Quebec (Colisée) from May 2 to 18, 2008. The participating teams will include Belarus, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Norway, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland and the USA.
Television audiences and spectator totals for the Championships — the biggest single winter sports event in the world — are rising year on year. The event will attract a world-wide television audience from the global community of ice hockey fans. The 2007 event in Moscow was broadcasted live in 80 countries by over 190 television stations, generating a cumulative audience more than 700 million.
Infront is the exclusive commercial partner of the IIHF and offers TV rights (for live, delayed, highlights and news broadcasts as well as radio and new media rights) for the IIHF World Championships and the annual Division 1 Groups A and B.
For further information, please contact:
Jörg Polzer
Manager, Communication & PR
Infront Sports & Media AG
Tel. +41-41-723 15 15
Fax +41-41-723 15 16
press@infrontsports.com
http://www.infrontsports.com/
Christian Henssel
Communication / Sports PR
DSF Deutsches SportFernsehen GmbH
Tel. +49-89-96 066 1242
Fax +49-89-96 066 1209
Christian.Henssel@dsf.de
http://www.dsf.de/
This event takes place every year and the new contract will run from 2008-2011, including thetournaments in Canada (Halifax / Quebec), Switzerland (Berne / Zurich-Kloten), Germany (Cologne /Mannheim) and Slovakia (Bratislava / Kosice).
DSF has exclusive rights to all 56 games and will show at least nine games of each event and all games of the German national team. This minimum coverage obligation is also valid in the case that Team Germany is relegated from the Top Division to Division 1. It covers the territory of Germany and includes all media rights.
“DSF has been a broadcast partner of the International Ice Hockey Federation in the past and has now expanded its role. It is a loyal partner to the sport and will ensure strong free-to-air coverage of the IIHF World Championship. This will further build the audience for the sport and will also be good news for sponsors who value the German market,” said Bruno Marty, Infront’s Executive Director Winter Sports.
Oliver Reichert, Managing Director of DSF said: “As the rights holder to the next four IIHF World Championships, with the bonus of the 2010 tournament taking place on home soil, DSF is giving this enthralling sport the long-term platform it deserves in the German market. Ice hockey is a television winner that fits perfectly with the DSF. This also means that the German National Team will get a broader and much better platform.”
About the IIHF World Championship
Each year, in April/May, the 16 best national ice hockey teams in the world come together to play 56 exciting games to establish the new IIHF World Champion. The 2008 IIHF World Championship will be played in Canada in the cities of Halifax (Metro Center) and Quebec (Colisée) from May 2 to 18, 2008. The participating teams will include Belarus, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Norway, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland and the USA.
Television audiences and spectator totals for the Championships — the biggest single winter sports event in the world — are rising year on year. The event will attract a world-wide television audience from the global community of ice hockey fans. The 2007 event in Moscow was broadcasted live in 80 countries by over 190 television stations, generating a cumulative audience more than 700 million.
Infront is the exclusive commercial partner of the IIHF and offers TV rights (for live, delayed, highlights and news broadcasts as well as radio and new media rights) for the IIHF World Championships and the annual Division 1 Groups A and B.
For further information, please contact:
Jörg Polzer
Manager, Communication & PR
Infront Sports & Media AG
Tel. +41-41-723 15 15
Fax +41-41-723 15 16
press@infrontsports.com
http://www.infrontsports.com/
Christian Henssel
Communication / Sports PR
DSF Deutsches SportFernsehen GmbH
Tel. +49-89-96 066 1242
Fax +49-89-96 066 1209
Christian.Henssel@dsf.de
http://www.dsf.de/