Spirit of the sport and the competition
Bob and skeleton are synonymous with speed and exhilaration. During a typical 60-second bobsleigh run, speeds of more than 140 km/h are reached with the crews subjected to more than four times the force of gravity. Bobsleigh and skeleton races are usually run on concrete based tracks with artificial ice surfaces; have a standard length of 1,500 metres and up to 14 curves, depending on the track.

Top competitions are the FIBT World Cup and the FIBT World Championships. The events are staged annually except during Olympic years and feature women’s bobsleigh, two man and four man bobsleigh and women’s and men’s skeleton.

Skeleton is the world’s first sliding sport and the only one where athletes take a face down position. It has an elite aura through its long identification with the world-famous Olympia Bob Club St Moritz. Skeleton competition returned to the Olympic Winter Games in 2002 and participation has increased significantly as a result. Today, skeleton is practiced on a competitive level by some 30 countries from all continents.

Rights opportunities
Infront’s role includes the marketing of the key sponsorship packages for bobsleigh and skeleton’s top-tier sponsorship programme as well as the worldwide distribution of media rights for the men’s and women’s FIBT World Cup and FIBT World Championship events. Programming includes; live, delayed and highlights coverage on TV, radio, internet and mobile platforms – with specific segmented packages on offer.

Media production prospects
For the 2011/12 season, the FIBT will handle the media production for all World Cup and World Championship races, including the prestigious Cesana, St. Moritz, Königssee and Whistler events. The programming will be in full HD, ensuring the key criteria of broadcasters, sponsors and fans across all markets are met with the highest standards and technical controls.

Approximately 40 staff will deliver the production with up to 27 cameras shooting the action on and around the tracks with provisions in place for updated and improved techniques. With a new creative camera set up and the constantly developing production standard of the FIBT a unique program for rights holders will be created.

Background appeal
Bobsleigh and skeleton have grown from a “niche” sport in a small core of alpine nations to a truly international winter sport. Working closely with the Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing (FIBT) since 2003, Infront Sports & Media has embarked on a path of expansion resulting in impressive levels of international television coverage. Over the last six years, there has been an 84 per cent increase in the cumulative audience (across all disciplines) and the hours of coverage have also grown impressively – up a huge 313 per cent from 2004/2005.

In the 2010/11 season, FIBT World Cup competitions (bobsleigh and skeleton) were broadcast across 59 TV stations in 23 countries reaching a cumulative audience of 747 million viewers and a total of 988 broadcast hours.

Upcoming Events

2012 FIBT World Cup

•    2 – 4 December 2011 in Igls, Austria

•    7 - 11 December 2011 in Cesana, Italy

•    16 - 18 December 2011 in Winterberg, Germany

•    6 - 8 January 2012 in Altenberg, Germany

•    13 – 15 January 2012 in Königssee, Germany

•    20 – 22 January 2012 in St Moritz, Switzerland

•    2 – 4 February 2012 in Whistler, Canada

•    9 – 11 February 2012 in Calgary, Canada


2012 FIBT World Championships

•    17 – 26 February 2012 – Lake Placid, USA