World Rowing events coverage rockets

World Rowing (Fisa) has reported a 43-per-cent year-on-year increase in total television hours covering its 2015 World Rowing Championships.

Between 2010 and 2015 the coverage nearly doubled, Fisa said. The number of television channels broadcasting the World Rowing Championships increased from 77 in 2014 to 181 in 2015 – a 103-per-cent increase.

The World Rowing Cup series and the European Rowing Championships have also reported substantial increases in their broadcast coverage since 2010, with the World Cup regattas achieving a 300-per-cent increase and the European Championships generating a huge 400-per-cent rise.

Video-on-demand streams of World Rowing events increased by 56 per cent to 1.3 million in 2015.

Fisa has a long-running partnership with the European Broadcasting Union, the consortium of public-service broadcasters, and the creation of World Rowing Productions, a collaboration between the governing body and sports production and distribution specialist Quattro Media, has helped to drive an increase in coverage.