Glasgow, Scotland / Zug, Switzerland – Infront is strengthening its position in the UK football market by agreeing a new partnership with the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) as its exclusive media rights partner for its four leagues and two cup competitions.
The agreement covers the international media rights for the SPFL Ladbrokes Premiership, SPFL Ladbrokes Championship, SPFL Ladbrokes League One & Two as well as the IRN-BRU Cup and Betfred Cup.
The cooperation with the SPFL reflects Infront's ambition to expand its presence in the UK market following its recent launch of a dedicated office in London. With its long-standing tradition in commercialising football properties and a reputation as market leader in media rights distribution, Infront will support the SPFL's desire to grow the league's appeal globally.
The announcement comes during the week of one of Scottish football's most famous fixtures – the Old Firm derby between Celtic F.C. and Rangers F.C. - world renowned as one of football's greatest rivalries.
The League is Scotland’s pre-eminent sporting competition, attracting nearly five million fans to the 2017/18 season's matches. This means that the League is the best-supported major league in European football per capita of the population.
Stephan Herth, Infront Senior Vice President Football said: "Infront has a long and successful history within the football industry and we are delighted to begin working with the SPFL to bring matches to fans of Scottish football around the world. The SPFL has its own unique legacy. As the second-oldest league in the world, it has welcomed many top players and managers over the past few decades. That history will almost certainly be added to for the next seasons. Infront looks forward to building on that legacy and taking the league to a new level on the international stage during that time."
Neil Doncaster, SPFL Chief Executive, said: “Infront are a highly respected and experienced global rights agency. They emerged from a number of different companies each of which were keen to represent us overseas. We will be working with Infront over the coming weeks to agree deals in those territories where SPFL football is not currently shown.”
Infront is a leading sports marketing company managing a comprehensive portfolio of top properties. Infront covers all aspects of successful sporting events, including the distribution of media rights, sponsorship, media production, event operation and digital solutions. Headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, Infront has a team of more than 1,000 staff working from 39 offices across more than 14 countries, delivering 4,100 event days of top class sport around the world every year. In 2015, Infront was integrated into Wanda Sports Group, part of Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group.