Monday, April 21, 2008
ITU partners with ESPN STAR Sports, WCSN, Canal Plus
New Broadcast deal aims to increase Triathlon's popularity in Asia
Vancouver, Canada (April 21, 2008) - The International Triathlon Union (ITU) today announced three new broadcast deals that will see the global reach of its television series expand to 160 countries. New deals were announced for Europe, Asia and the Americas , making the series the most widely distributed in the sport's history.
Pan-Asian broadcaster ESPN STAR Sports (ESS) secured a broadcast deal with ITU that will see triathlon aired on its cable and satellite networks across Asia ; the contract also includes internet and mobile rights.
"ESPN STAR Sports is delighted to add ITU content to our world-class programming line up. The sport already has a big following in the region and we expect this trend to continue due to the wide exposure on our networks," said Mr Nick Wilkinson, Vice-President Programming South-East Asia.
ITU also has secured a deal with WCSN to expand its penetration into the U.S. market. The deal compliments the existing agreement with cable broadcaster FSN and ensures that the entire series will be readily available to the U.S. market on a wide variety of media platforms.
"These latest deals further expand the reach of our product in several key markets. Triathlon is rapidly growing worldwide and it is our goal to make the sport's best events available to as large an international audience as possible," stated Brian Mahony , ITU Director of Media and Television.
Through its international distribution partner BBC Worldwide, ITU also secured a deal in Spain with Canal Plus. This agreement ensures that the sport's premiere series is available in the home country of the sport's leading male athlete, Javier Gomez, who continues to dominate leading up to the Beijing Olympic Games.
More details on the 2008 ITU television series can be found on www.triathlon.org
About International Triathlon Union (ITU):
The International Triathlon Union is the world governing body for the Olympic sport of Triathlon and all related MultiSport disciplines: Duathlon, Aquathlon and Winter Triathlon. ITU was founded in 1989 at the first ITU Congress in Avignon , France and has maintained its headquarters in Vancouver , Canada since then. It now has over 120 affiliated National Federations around the world and is the youngest International Federation in the Olympics. Triathlon was awarded Olympic status in 1994. ITU is proudly committed to supporting the development of the sport worldwide through strong relationships with continental and national federations, working with its partners to offer a balanced sport development programme from grassroots to a high-performance level. For more information, visit: www.triathlon.org
For more information, please contact:
Stephen Bourdeau, ITU Media Manager
Email: stephen.bourdeau@triathlon.org Tel: +1.604.904.9248 Fax: +1.604.904.9249
Paula Kim, ITU Communications Manager
Email: paula.kim@triathlon.org Tel: +1.604.904.9248 Fax: +1.604.904.9249
For all Television and Broadcast inquiries, please contact:
Brian Mahony , ITU Director of Media & Television
Email: brian.mahony@triathlon.org Tel: +1.604.904.9248 Fax: +1.604.904.9249