The World Dodgeball Association has entered into a multi-year global rights partnership with the Protocol Sports Marketing agency.
Under the deal, Protocol will serve as the exclusive international television, digital and streaming rights distributor and production services partner for all WDA-sanctioned events.
The agreement comes ahead of the 2018 Dodgeball World Cup, which will be staged at New York’s Madison Square Garden (pictured) on August 4. A domestic rights deal has been signed with sports broadcaster ESPN for the event, which will see the second edition of the tournament televised live on ESPNU and available to stream via the ESPN App in the US.
The official world governing body of dodgeball, the WDA operates in partnership with 62 national federations and holds observer status within the Global Association of International Sports Federations.
WDA president Tom Hickson said the partnership with Protocol and rights deal with ESPN are important steps to elevating dodgeball’s international perception as both a participation sport and a spectator sport.
Protocol Sports Marketing president Lowell Conn added: “Protocol Sports Marketing’s legacy as the largest distributor of championship boxing worldwide has introduced our unique and personalised service capabilities to international broadcasters, streaming platforms, and rights holders; and we are ecstatic to now have this opportunity to leverage this goodwill – alongside our vast creativity and unparalleled work ethic – to propel the sport of dodgeball into a new stratosphere.
“A dodgeball revolution is coming, and this is only just the beginning of our journey.”