Zug, Switzerland – The IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship will hit the ice from 1 until 17 May 2015 with a total of 16 teams competing in the Czech Republic cities of Prague and Ostrava for the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship title. The exclusive media and marketing partner, Infront Sports & Media, has ensured that the flagship winter sports event will be broadcast to fans in close to 160 territories, supported by a contingent of 14 high profile sponsor brands.
Last year, the event achieved a cumulative television audience of 945 million, and 2015 numbers are expected to surpass. New broadcast agreements this year will expand media coverage to countries such as Italy, the Netherlands, Brunei, Chinese Taipei and Malaysia. In the strong ice hockey markets, the games will be shown in the Czech Republic on Czech TV, in Sweden on TV4, in Finland on MTV3, in Russia on Channel 1 and RTR as well as in Canada on TSN, RDS, and CTV.
Adding visibility in territories where no or no conflicting media rights agreements are in place, Infront will again offer a high quality live video streaming service on the IIHF’s official YouTube channel. This offering will be complemented by highlight clips available across various official IIHF social media platforms.
The full host broadcast operation is managed and co-ordinated by Infront’s production team and will include over 20 cameras around the ice rink for every game, including two super-slow-motion-cameras, in-goal and overhead centre-circle cameras. The HDTV signal will be produced by one HD OB van in each arena and distributed worldwide to all broadcasters via fibre and satellite. In addition, Infront will be providing support for broadcasters in their unilateral production, as well as with transmission and commentary facilities together with the provision of live statistics and additional services.
This year, 14 international sponsors will benefit from a comprehensive rights package, receiving global television coverage alongside diverse activation and promotional opportunities – including over 2,500 meters of advertising boards and backdrops. The group is again led by Official Main Sponsor Škoda (car manufacturer) – now in its record 24th year of partnership. There are 13 Official Sponsors, all headquartered in different countries, showing the IIHF‘s global commercial impact: AJ (home and office furniture - Sweden), Actavis (generic pharmaceutical company – USA/Ireland), Gazprom Neft with their new brand G-Drive (energy - Russia), Henkel (detergents and adhesive technologies – Germany), Husky (Vodka – Russia), Heineken with its brand Krusovice (brewery – The Netherlands/Czech Republic), Kyocera (document solutions - Japan), Nike (sports apparel - USA), NiveaMen (men’s skin care – Germany), Raiffeisen Bank International (banking - Austria), Stadler Rail (trains and public transport solutions – Switzerland), Tissot (watches/timing - Switzerland) and Zepter (home and kitchen ware - France).
Infront Sports & Media is the most respected sports marketing company in the world, managing a comprehensive portfolio of top properties. Led by President & CEO Philippe Blatter, Infront covers all aspects of successful sporting events – including distribution of media rights, sponsorship, media production and event operation – and has won a reputation for its high standards of delivery. As the number one player in winter sport and with a leading role in football and summer sports, Infront enjoys long-lasting partnerships with 160 rights-holders and hundreds of sponsors and media companies. Headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, Infront has a team of 600 experienced staff working from 25 offices across 13 countries, delivering 4,000 event days of top class sport around the world every year.