Zug, Switzerland, 14 November 2006 – The German public broadcasters ARD and ZDF signed a long-term agreement to broadcast the races of the Men’s and Women’s bobsleigh and skeleton World Championship and World Cup events exclusively on free television in Germany.

The agreement was announced today by Infront Sports & Media, the exclusive commercial partner of the Fédération International de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing (FIBT), the governing body of both sports.

 

The rights granted to ARD / ZDF include all events of the FIBT World Cup for three seasons. The agreement is effective from the start of the 2006/2007 season and runs for a period of three years through the 2008/2009 season.

 

The upcoming season consists of nine events in seven countries. Most events are combined competitions featuring all disciplines (Women’s Bobsleigh, 2-man and 4-Man Bobsleigh, and Men’s and Women’s skeleton) during a three to four-day event at the same track.

 

Furthermore ARD / ZDF are entitled to transmit the three upcoming FIBT World Championships. The 2007 event takes place in St. Moritz, Switzerland, and is scheduled from January 28 to February 4, 2007. In 2008 the FIBT World Championships will be staged in Altenberg, Germany.

 

“With three tracks that host FIBT events, Germany has long been an important market for international bobsleigh and skeleton,” said FIBT President Robert H. Storey. “Consistent and broad coverage from ARD and ZDF is an important component in the FIBT’s television distribution.”

 

“Infront is particularly pleased to have concluded this important long-term agreement in one of the host countries of FIBT World Cup. It ensures that the German viewers will have excellent free TV coverage of all FIBT events in bobsleigh and skeleton,” commented Bruno Marty, Executive Director Winter Sports for Infront Sports & Media. “We are also in advanced discussions with several other broadcasters worldwide concerning remaining FIBT broadcast rights. Further agreements will be announced shortly,” he added.

 

In addition to new agreements that Infront is negotiating, Speed continues as the lead broadcaster in the USA and Canada. Speed will show 23 hours of FIBT bobsleigh and skeleton events during the 2005-2006, including 13 hours of same day/same weekend coverage.

 

High quality coverage
The FIBT is unusual, in that it produces its own high quality television coverage for its own events since 1997. The federation will be generating the host broadcast from eight World Cup venues (Calgary, Canada; Park City, USA; Lake Placid, USA; Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy; Igls, Austria; Cesana, Italy; Winterberg, Germany; and Königssee, Germany) as well as the FIBT World Championships from St. Moritz, Switzerland — delivering cutting-edge production standards that have been improved on a continuous basis. This in-house television production guarantees that the television pictures capture the unique drama of the sport and meet key criteria of sponsors, fans and broadcast media partners.

 

For the 2006/2007 season the FIBT introduces an upgraded international feed for general distribution, several supplementary feeds and a post-race highlights package for rights holders.

 

FIBT’s events are among the most successful winter sports on television. In the 2005/2006 season FIBT World Cup competitions (bobsleigh and skeleton) reached a cumulative audience of more than 410 million viewers and a total transmission time of almost 250 hours.

For further information, please contact:

Jörg Polzer
Infront Sports & Media AG
Tel. +41-41-723 15 15
Fax +41-41-723 15 16
press@infrontsports.com

 

Donald Krone
FIBT Communications
Tel. +1 518-524-2647
Fax +1 518-536-9090
donkrone@bobsleigh.com
www.bobsleigh.com