Zug, Switzerland – Infront Sports & Media, a Wanda Sports company, has extended its media and marketing partnership with the the Finnish Ski Association (FSA) through till 2025/26. The newly extended agreement was officially announced today by the Finnish Ski Association and covers media rights to the FIS Nordic Ski World Cup events that take place in Finland as well as media production and selected advertising packages.
The media rights distribution and production operation includes all competitions of the FIS Men’s and Women’s Cross-Country, Ski Jumping (including Ski Flying)and Nordic Combined World Cups, all competitions of the Cross-Country, Ski Jumping (including Ski Flying) and Nordic Combined Finnish National Championships and all competitions of the popular “Suomen Cup”.
YLE to broadcast to Finnish ski fans nationwide
In a second agreement, the Finnish public broadcaster YLE secured the media rights to ensure consistent coverage of the Nordic events for Finnish ski fans over the next five years. The contract with YLE comprises the media rights for live, delayed and highlights coverage across all TV and digital platforms with the broadcaster also handling the production operation to produce high quality coverage of the events for the next five seasons.
Jukka-Pekka Vuori, President of the Finnish Ski Association: “The agreement we have concluded with Infront is extremely significant, both in financial and practical terms. It is the most important commercial collaboration agreement concluded by the Finnish Ski Association to date. It offers the Finnish ski community the opportunity to continue to enjoy world class skiing for many years to come, and makes it possible for Finnish athletes to compete in high profile Nordic ski events in their own country.”
Bruno Marty, Infront’s Executive Director Winter Sports: “Over the past few years we have managed to increase the visibility of the Nordic events in Finland which are true highlights of the FIS Nordic World Cup season. Our collective treatment of the FIS Alpine and Nordic World Cup series makes sense for broadcasters and we are delighted that the Finnish Association has recognised this advantage and is continuing to put its trust in Infront.”
Leading role in international ski and snowboard
For the majority of FIS World Cup events, Infront facilitates global media rights distribution through a collective approach and has developed and produced attractive programming formats and increased worldwide visibility for the series. Together with FIS, Infront has also established guidelines to ensure a consistent quality in media production across the entire season.
About Infront Sports & Media
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, summer and endurance sports, Infront enjoys long-lasting partnerships with 170 rights-holders and hundreds of sponsors and media companies. Headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, Infront has a team of more than 900 experienced staff working from over 35 offices across more than 15 countries, delivering 4,100 event days of top class sport around the world every year. In November 2015, Infront was integrated into Wanda Sports Holding, part of the Chinese conglomerate the Dalian Wanda Group.
