Zug, Switzerland, 11 July 2008 – Infront Sports & Media has secured an exclusive, long-term media rights agreement for the EHF European Championship in handball with three leading Scandinavian broadcasters, TV2 Denmark, TV2 Norway and TV4 Sweden.

The partnership with the three broadcasters commenced in 2000 and run successfully since then. It has now been extended for the period 2011-2015. This brings in four EHF Euro events – two editions of the men’s event and two editions of the women’s event. The rights agreement includes all matches and carries comprehensive broadcast obligations.

Television coverage and audiences for the EHF European Handball Championship have improved consistently throughout the EHF- Infront partnership. The 2008 Men’s EHF Euro, which took place from January 17-27 in Norway, had a cumulative television viewing audience in excess of 1.2 billion for the first time. The television audience watched more than 1,000 programme hours of coverage. Overall, the tournament was broadcast in 85 territories– particularly in Europe, Middle East and Asia.

Especially in the Scandinavian countries, there was a large increase in interest, which has affected the size of the cumulative audience in these traditional handball markets. Over two times more viewers followed the live transmissions on TV2 Denmark and TV4 Sweden in 2008, in comparison to the 2006 EHF Euro in Switzerland. In Denmark, 2,022 million viewers watched the final match itself. TV2 Denmark reached a market share of 86.5 percent with the live transmission. In the host country Norway, the number of broadcast hours was almost tripled compared to the 2006 event.

Stephan Herth, Infront’s Executive Director Summer Sport, said: “We are delighted to continue with this strong and successful relationship with our three broadcast partners in Scandinavia, a core market for handball. By working together in the long term, we can achieve the best possible options for the fans in the region and help further build the sport”.

Flemming Meier, Head of Sports, TV2 Denmark, said: “All TV channels are happy that we could work together to secure the media rights of the European Handball Championships within the period 2011-2015 and prolong our cooperation with Infront.” Björn Taalesen, Head of Sports, TV2 Norway, added: “The European Handball Championships, with their high-intensity drama and their traditionally strong Scandinavian participation, are some of the most gripping and captivating sporting events watched by television viewers and internet users in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.” Hans Pekkari, Head of Sports, TV4 Sweden, commented: “The strength of our network with its many associated channels, will ensure a broad coverage of the tournaments for all handball viewers in Scandinavia.”

The EHF and Infront are currently preparing for the 2008 Women's European Championship, from 02 – 14 December in FYR Macedonia. The 47 matches will be played in Skopje and Ohrid. Alongside Norway as defending champion, Russia, France, Germany, Hungary and FYR Macedonia as organiser, Austria, Belarus, Croatia, Denmark, Spain, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Sweden and Ukraine are qualified for the event. The next Men's EHF Euro takes place in Austria, 19-31 January 2010.


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