Australian live streaming platform Epicentre.TV has acquired rights to the men’s World Bodyboarding Tour through an agreement with the Association of Professional Bodyboarders.
The five-year deal secures Epicentre.TV rights to the tour, which features events in places such as Brazil, the Canary Islands, Chile, Hawaii, Portugal, Spain and Tahiti, until 2021.
Epicentre.TV will provide live coverage of meetings, and produce hour-long highlights shows following each event. Under the agreement, Epicentre.TV will also negotiate international broadcast rights on the APB’s behalf.
“This collaboration will provide the APB with huge benefits for global corporate sponsorships and increase our reach by millions around the world,” APB chief executive Alex Leon said. “It is a great time for the sport and the industry involved as there will be significant growth in participation rates and commercial sales.”
It is hoped the agreement will lead to the APB securing a naming rights partner for the tour. The APB added that its aim is for all grand slam events to be broadcast live on television by 2018.
Leon added: “We want to boost prizemoney and increase the number of events on the World Tour to make professional bodyboarding an appealing and lucrative career path.”