Infront seals exclusive media rights deal with Universal Sports for FIS World Cup events
Multi-discipline agreement ensures coverage of top international ski events in the United States for next five seasons
A top quality television product
As the media rights partner of most national skiing federations that host the FIS World Cup events, Infront is developing the FIS properties as a coherent, high-level television entertainment product. The new agreement with Universal Sports includes full live coverage, as well as delayed and highlights coverage for television (including terrestrial, cable, satellite, and broadband platforms), radio and internet (including mobile rights and video on demand) on a FREE and/or PAY basis. It exclusively covers the major US sports market as well as Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
As in previous years, the Universal Sports audience will benefit from extensive programming around the FIS World Cup season – November to March. Infront’s media rights portfolio comprises FIS World Cup events in approximately 30 countries around the world, including the most prestigious races in each discipline.
As part of the deal, Universal Sports has also acquired a further license for three dedicated magazine programmes on FIS Snowboard, Freestyle and Alpine Skiing. Each magazine series is made up of a number of 25 minute shows featuring race action, interviews, backstage shots and items of interest from the world’s top winter sports resorts.
Sustained coverage in a crucial market
“The agreement with Infront allows our network to continue bringing multi-platform coverage of the FIS World Cup events to millions of winter sport enthusiasts across the U.S.,” said David Sternberg, CEO of Universal Sports. “We are excited to showcase some of the greatest athletes on the planet competing week in and week out at stunning venues around the world.”
Bruno Marty, Infront’s Executive Director Winter Sports, said: “The United States is one of the major sports markets worldwide and – with its successful athletes and prestigious races – also a key nation in skiing. The prolonged agreement with Universal Sports ensures that the extensive US audience is connected to the FIS World Cup events on a long-term basis. Universal Sports has acquired the rights to transmit an impressive 1,000 events to TV screens across the country over the next five years - in turn this will generate comprehensive exposure for one of the most popular winter sports in the world.”
"In the past you'd see one or two big races broadcast on TV each season, but FIS World Cup is about a full season of skiing with a million factors coming into play at each race," said Bode Miller, five-time Olympic medalist. "The guys who are fast all season are able to process all of those factors, break them down and take the right amount of risk. You can't see that in one race. It's cool that Universal Sports is stepping up to show the full World Cup story.”
In a separate agreement with Infront, Universal Sport has also acquired the media rights for the 2013 FIS Alpine and Nordic World Ski Championships. The events will take place from 4 to 17 February 2013 in Schladming, Austria, and 20 February to 4 March 2011 in Val di Fiemme, Italy respectively.
About Universal Sports
Universal Sports, a partnership between NBC Sports and InterMedia Partners, LP, is the premier multi-platform media destination for Olympic-related sports programming in the United States. Universal Sports is available in 52 markets nationwide, including all of the nation’s top 10 media markets and 20 of the top 25. Major world championship sports events aired on Universal Sports include track and field, skiing, swimming, gymnastics, marathons, figure skating, cycling and rugby. The network’s website, UniversalSports.com, delivers an immersive user experience via live and on-demand competition coverage, interaction with top athletes through interviews and blogs and in-depth access to Olympic sports news and information year-round. For more information, please visit UniversalSports.com.
About Infront Sports & Media
Infront Sports & Media, based in Zug, Switzerland, has grown impressively in recent years to become one of the leading international sports marketing groups in the world. Known for its high standards of delivery, the company covers all aspects of a successful sport event – including distribution of media rights, sponsorship, media production and event operations. As a key player in winter sport, football and other summer sports, Infront enjoys long-lasting partnerships with 120 rights-holders and hundreds of sponsors and media companies. With an experienced and passionate team of 500 staff in over 20 offices across 10 countries, the Group helps to annually deliver more than 2,300 event days of top class sport around the world.
For further information, please contact:
Jörg Polzer / Nike Möhle
Corporate Communications
Infront Sports & Media AG
Tel. +41-41-723 15 15
Fax +41-41-723 15 16
press infrontsports.com
www.infrontsports.com
Kevin Endsley
Director of Communications
Universal Sports Network
Tel. +1 818-661 4188
kendsley universalsports.com
www.universalsports.com
