Countdown
The IAAF is delighted to announce that just over a month away from the start of the 2011 IAAF World Championships, Daegu, Korea (27 Aug to 4 Sep), IEC in Sports, IAAF's media rights agency for Europe and Africa, have been able to conclude further broadcasting agreements.
This is particularly good news as the three territories concerned, Belgium, Croatia and Poland are each nations possessing a rich athletics history.
In Belgium, following the agreement that was concluded a month ago with VRT the Flemish public broadcaster, an additional deal has been finalised with RTBF, the French speaking public broadcaster. The deal with RTBF, which was the partner of the IAAF through the previous EBU agreement which ended in 2009, covers the IAAF World Athletics Series of events from 2011 to 2013.
As we detailed at the time of the initial Belgium agreement, the country has a phenomenal middle and long distance running tradition, across the track, road and country, which stretches back over a century, but most recently has experienced global success via Olympic High Jump champion Tia Hellebaut and its sprinters.
In Croatia, an agreement has been reached with SPTV, the newly created sports national and free-to-air TV channel which is 100% owned by the National Olympic Committee of Croatia, Olympic Channel, which is transmitted via DTT and reaches a large part of the population. SPTV has provided strong broadcast guarantees for the deal which also spans the IAAF World Athletics Series, 2011 to 2013.
On the global stage Croatia currently counts on its High Jump queen Blanka Vlasic, the two-time reigning World champion indoors and out, but has produced middle and long distance greats in its glorious past like 800m specialist Luciano Susanj, who is currently the President of the Croatian Athletics Federation, and marathoner Franjo Mihalic.
In Poland, a deal has been finalised with TVP, the Polish public broadcaster, for the IAAF World Athletics Series of events from 2011 to 2013, again with strong broadcast guarantees given. TVP was the partner of the IAAF through the previous EBU agreement which ended in 2009.
It is Poland, of the three deals announced today, which has punched the heaviest internationally and can proudly count itself as one of the top 15 nations in the history of both World Championship and Olympic athletics based upon placings achieved in finals. Two years ago in Berlin, Poland had an impressive haul of eight World Championship medals including two golds – Anna Rogowska in the Pole Vault and Anita Wlodarczyk in the Hammer Throw, the latter with a World record!
“With these three new deals IEC has finalised more than 40 contracts including direct country by country deals in European territories where all but two are with free to air broadcasters,” commented IAAF President Lamine Diack. “With the previously announced deal with Eurosport this means that Daegu 2011 will be covered across all of Europe which is exceptionally good news.”
IAAF
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