This year’s IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship drew to a close in a thrilling penalty shoot-out as Sweden beat Canada 2-1. The tournament registered an overall attendance of 686,391, which is the second-highest spectator figure recorded after 741,690 at the 2015 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in Prague and Ostrava in the Czech Republic.
Led by ŠKODA, Infront, the exclusive media and marketing partner of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), helped secure 14 Official Sponsors for the 2017 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship. Managed and co-ordinated by Infront’s production team, 24 cameras around the ice rink ensured the full host broadcast production of the HDTV signal. Media rights agreements were secured in over 165 territories.
Using the IIHF official website as a hub for the digital campaigns, Infront and the IIHF introduced a number of innovations to allow viewers more control of footage and increased engagement options. On the production side, EVS C-Cast technology was integrated into the website and allowed fans to access complementary footage by enjoying multi-camera angle footage and clips of all major moments from each game. Furthermore, up to 15 Infront digital specialists on-site handled social media activities throughout the tournament.
It was recently announced that ŠKODA extended its sponsorship engagement of the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship by another four years from 2018 until 2021. The 25 year partnership between ŠKODA and the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship was crowned with a new entry in the Guinness World Records.
Sweden’s victory also marked the first time in four finals that Sweden beat Canada – after losing in the finals of 1997, 2003, and 2004. On the other side, Canada had to settle for the silver medal after winning the tournament in 2015 and 2016. In the bronze medal game, Russia had the upper hand, beating Finland 5:3.
