Zug, Switzerland – Infront Sports & Media is to become media rights partner for the Spengler Cup Davos - the most traditional international ice hockey tournament for club teams. Hosted by the Swiss team HC Davos, the Spengler Cup is an invitational tournament, which features six teams from around the world and for the past 88 years has been an annual feature on the calendar between Christmas and New Year’s Eve. This season’s competition starts this coming Saturday, 26 December 2015 with the final taking place on 31 December 2015.
The agreement for the Spengler Cup includes all international media rights (excluding the USA and Canada) from 2015 up to 2017. As a result, broadcast agreements have already been secured by Infront in key ice hockey territories such as Russia (Match TV/NTV Plus), Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary (Sport1), Germany (Sport1) as well as Denmark (TV2). The production is handled by Swiss host broadcaster SRG, which will provide full HD coverage of all games.
Fredi Pargätzi, President of the Spengler Cup’s Organising Committee, said: “We have chosen Infront as our partner due to its profound expertise and network in ice hockey, having been involved with the sport for many years. The company has an impressive track record of building worldwide audiences for major ice hockey events – know-how, which will be highly beneficial for the Spengler Cup. We are convinced that Infront will be the right partner to take our tournament’s international reach to the next level.”
Bruno Marty, Infront’s Executive Director Winter Sports, commented: “We thank the organisers for their trust in our team and its capabilities. The Spengler Cup Davos has a long-standing tradition and presents strong team line-ups year after year. Taking place in the middle of the festive season, it offers an attractive time window for TV viewers – not only for the core ice hockey community, but also for many families and other sports enthusiasts. We will be aiming to extend the exposure of the Spengler Cup into new markets, increasing both awareness as well as overall reach for the event.”
The 2015 Spengler Cup Davos presented by UBS will feature the Adler Mannheim (GER), Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg (RUS), HC Davos (SUI), HC Lugano (SUI), Jokerit Helsinki (FIN) and Team Canada (the European division of the current world champion).
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 experienced staff working from 25 offices across 13 countries, delivering 4,000 event days of top class sport around the world every year.