IMG builds on Aiba ties with new contract

The IMG agency has agreed a partnership with the International Boxing Association (Aiba) for the sale and distribution of the worldwide broadcast rights to its events in 2017.

Under the deal, IMG will distribute more than 30 hours of live content from the Men’s World Championships, which take place in the German city of Hamburg from September 22-30, while it will also sell rights to the Continental Championships and the World Series of Boxing.

The agreement is an extension of IMG’s existing relationship with Aiba, which helped the governing body distribute the global rights to the APB/WSB Olympic Qualification Tournament for the 2016 summer Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Kristian Hysen, vice-president and head of boxing for IMG Media, said: “With 280 fighters from 80 countries competing at the World Championships, the Continental Championships being hosted across four different continents, and the World Series of Boxing producing over 100 hours of content, all three events have become an attractive proposition to broadcasters and fight channels on a global scale.”