The IEC in Sports agency has announced a 52-per-cent increase in broadcast reach for the International Volleyball Federation’s (FIVB) World Grand Champions Cup national team event, which commenced yesterday (Tuesday) in Japan.
IEC, the competition’s exclusive media rights agency and global broadcast distributor for all markets excluding Japan, said that it had signed deals with 18 broadcast partners, covering 816 million homes in 92 territories.
This represents an overall increase of 28 per cent in broadcasters and 52 per cent in the expansion of household reach since the previous event in 2009. At the last edition, the event was distributed to 13 broadcasters across 85 territories, covering 536 million homes.
Rights-holders for the 2013 World Grand Champions Cup include pay-television broadcasters Al Jazeera and beIN Sport for the Middle East and US respectively, pan-European sports broadcaster Eurosport across Europe, state broadcasters VGTRK and CCTV in Russia and China, and Brazilian media group Globo.
The World Grand Champions Cup is the most important event in the international volleyball calendar this year. Launched in 1993, the competition is played every four years between the Olympic Games and World Championships. The event will run until November 24.