Pan-regional broadcaster Eurosport has signed a long-term agreement with the Infront Sports & Media agency to consolidate its extensive portfolio of winter sports events through to the 2020-21 season.
Eurosport will continue to offer live coverage of all International Ski Federation (FIS) Alpine, Cross-Country, Nordic Combined, Ski Jumping, Freestyle and Snowboard World Cup events, with a fresh five-year term running from 2016-17 onwards.
This includes exclusive coverage in the UK, France, Poland, Romania and Spain for all disciplines of the Alpine and Nordic Skiing World Cup races and in Sweden for Alpine World Cup races held in North America.
Retaining the 2019 and 2021 Alpine and Nordic Skiing World Championships and the 2015 and 2017 Snowboard and Freestyle Skiing World Championships means Eurosport will provide coverage from more than 200 events per season.
The events will air on the Eurosport and Eurosport 2 television channels, alongside Eurosport Asia-Pacific, with more than 600 hours of broadcasting scheduled in Europe alone during each campaign. Broadcasts will be supported by FIS World Cup action being available on mobile, tablet, PC and connected television through online simulcast service Eurosport Player.
Jean-Thierry Augustin, Eurosport Group chief executive, said: “Eurosport demonstrates once more a clear commitment to invest in its role as the channel of reference for winter sports. On a strategic level Eurosport continues to secure long-term agreements across its rights portfolio and to increase local exclusivities to provide the best content offer possible for viewers and commercial partners.”
Philippe Blatter, president and chief executive of Infront Sports & Media, added: “We are satisfied to announce this major agreement, as Eurosport represents a real occasion for winter sports to get the visibility they deserve around the world. We deem this has been the right choice to reach a wide audience, thanks to the traditional and digital media the broadcaster owns. This will increase the value of winter sports and widen the number of fans and people who practice them.”