Ice hockey’s Spengler Cup will be broadcast in China, the UK, Ireland and Georgia for the first time when its 2017 edition takes place later this month.
The Infront agency, exclusive distributor of the event’s international media rights, has secured coverage in more than 40 countries ahead of the tournament in Davos, Switzerland from December 26-31.
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV has acquired rights, along with pay-television broadcaster Premier Sports in the UK and Ireland and telecommunications company Silknet in Georgia. CCTV will broadcast the two Spengler Cup semi-finals, as well as the final itself.
Games will also be live streamed by the Spengler Cup’s official channel on video-sharing platform YouTube, aside from in Switzerland, Canada, the US and Mexico, as well as in those countries that have a television partner.
The participating teams of the 91st Spengler Cup are host HC Davos and the defending champion Team Canada, Finland’s HPK Hämeenlinna, the Czech Republic’s Mountfield HK, Kontinental Hockey League representative Dinamo Riga and the Swiss national team.
In other news, UK free-to-air digital television channel FreeSports has agreed a five-year deal to cover the games of Great Britain’s men’s team at International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship tournaments.
The deal is set to commence with the second-tier IIHF World Championship Division 1 Group A in April. The six-team tournament runs from April 22-28 and will take place at the Papp Laszlo Sportarena in Budapest, Hungary.
Great Britain sealed promotion to the Championship last season and will face the host nation, along with Italy, Kazakhstan, Poland and Slovenia. Two teams will be promoted to the top-tier World Championship.