German public-service broadcasters ARD and ZDF have acquired rights for the 2013 athletics World Championships, which will be held in Moscow, Russia.
SportA, the sports rights arm of ARD and ZDF, struck the deal with the IEC in Sports agency.
IEC represents the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) global governing body in negotiations for European and African rights to the IAAF World Athletics Series. The World Championships is the series’ showpiece event.
Under the deal, ARD and ZDF will broadcast live coverage of all evening sessions during the championships. The event begins on August 10.
As part of the agreement, ARD and ZDF have also obtained non-exclusive rights for this year’s two other World Athletics Series events – the World Cross Country Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland, and the World Youth Championships in Donetsk, Ukraine.
IAAF president Lamine Diack said: “Germany, whose athletes have taken a staggering haul of 70 Olympic track and field titles and 53 gold medals in the IAAF World Championships, loves athletics, and this agreement will help feed that national passion.”