Rising television figures

The Infront Group – through Infront Italy – has been marketing the media rights of the European Championships since 1993, whilst the direct interaction with the CEV has been established in 2005. The relationship has been a success, leading to an enhanced coverage of the most prestigious European volleyball event which reached record levels last year.

For the Final Round of the 2007 CEV Indesit European Championships in Russia and Belgium/Luxembourg, Infront secured coverage in 90 different countries and territories worldwide and the events were transmitted by 30 broadcasters. Most were provided live or through near-live transmissions.

Infront has invested in the quality of the television coverage, providing a framework for a state-of-the-art host broadcast production, supervising all aspects of the broadcast in collaboration with the chosen networks in each host country and upgrading the camera coverage. In 2007, the production specification included more than ten cameras in each arena and for each game.

Marco Bogarelli, President of Infront Italy, said: “We are delighted for the renewal of our partnership with the CEV. Our relationship to date on this project has been successful and productive. We have invested in the quality of the television product and also devoted considerable efforts in expanding the impact of the competition.”

CEV President André Meyer commented: “Infront’s international broadcast and media sales experience and its involvement into top events make a compelling argument for the continuation of our relationship with that Group. Infront has a lot of expertise at its command and this is providing considerable benefits to the European volleyball family.”

Two Championships in 2009

The next Men’s CEV Indesit European Championships will be held in Turkey from 3 — 13 September 2009. The matches will take place in Istanbul and Izmir with Semi-finals and Finals to be played in Istanbul. 16 teams — Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, The Netherlands, Russia, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Turkey — will compete for the European title. The choice of Turkey, which hosted the Women’s Championships in 2003, indicates how highly this venue is regarded for its high quality organisation and volleyball experience.

The Women’s Championships taking place next 25 September — 4 October 2009 will be hosted in Poland, where volleyball is a top sport, as the huge success of the 2007 World League Finals has demonstrated. The four preliminary rounds will be played in Bydgoszcz, Katowice, Lodz and Wroclaw with the Semi-finals and Finals to be staged in Lodz. The 16 teams qualified are: Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain and Turkey.

About Infront Sport & Media

Infront Sports & Media, based in Zug, Switzerland, is an experienced international full service sports marketing company with a capacity for innovation that is helping to transform the industry. These innovations have enhanced every area of sports marketing, including distribution of rights, host broadcast, programme production, event operations, brand development, sponsorship and even online entertainment. Infront has more than 400 employees across 23 offices in 10 countries.

The group’s extensive portfolio includes partnerships with several European national football associations (incl. the DFB in Germany) and top Italian and German clubs. It is also the exclusive media rights advisor of Italy’s Lega Calcio and involved in the distribution of the Asian media rights to the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cup™ (in a joint venture with Dentsu). Infront’s subsidiary Host Broadcast Services (HBS), will handle the host broadcast of the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cup™ and for the first division of the French Football League (Ligue 1). Infront is also the strongest, most experienced marketing agency in the winter sports arena – representing six of seven Olympic winter sport federations at international level – as well as an established player in the Chinese sports market.

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
www.infrontsports.com

Federico Ferraro
Press Officer
Confédération Européenne de Volleyball (CEV)
Tel. +352-25 46 46 37
Fax: +352-25 46 46 40
fferraro cev.lu
www.cev.lu