Infront has announced a new five-year agreement with Handbollsligan and SHE the top Swedish Handball Leagues for men and women, which will see it provide a new, fully digital ecosystem solution to grow the game of handball in Sweden.
The partnership aims to enhance the league’s distribution and online presence in order to broaden the interest in Swedish handball to reach even more fans via unrivaled technology. The project is led by Infront’s digital and technology arm, Infront Lab, and will see the leagues and league clubs utilise Infront Lab’s entire suite of products to drive engagement, personalise the fan journey, and create unparalleled experiences. Infront Lab will collaborate with Rego Production AB on content production and Swedish Agency XVI Sports on implementation on the ground.
As part of the new ecosystem, the leagues and all 26 teams, will offer fans customized OTT platforms for each club’s fan base, streaming live and video on demand (VOD) content fans want to view and engage with.
Over the next five seasons, the top Swedish Handball Leagues will be able to amplify its content output and enhance relationships with fans by leveraging AI tools and activations. This will allow the leagues, clubs, and even players to further personalise experiences and offer a wider variation of content that appeals to all generations of Swedish handball fans.
Damian Browarnik, Managing Director of Infront Lab, said: "We are thrilled to partner with the Swedish Handball Leagues and to provide them with the best possible digital solutions. Sweden has a history of success in Handball, and we are eager to help the leagues deliver personalised experiences to their fans through our partnership. We are confident that we will reach new heights in fan engagement and growth for the leagues and its clubs, and that together we will build a successful and fruitful partnership."
Peter Gentzel, CEO of the Swedish Handball Leagues, said: “We are extremely satisfied in reaching an agreement with a major player in the international mediaworld that shares our long term vision of Swedish top handball. Infront has a history of shaping the future of sports with a global portfolio of leading sports and particularly the European Handball Federation. Together with Infront we are putting Swedish top handball at the absolute forefront of sports technology which allows us to further develop our top Leagues and clubs to a higher level both on and off the court. Next step for us is to involve the boards of our leagues and after that the clubs to secure a strong commitment to a successful cooperation with Infront.”
Amikam Kranz, Vice President Media, Technology & Betting at Infront, said: "This agreement will showcase our growing ability to combine best of breed services across media, betting and technology. We recognise that different rights holders face different challenges, and tailored solutions such as this one are designed to help our clients reach their commercial goals. It is another positive step for Infront within the strategy of the Group's Media, Betting & Technology unit."
The Swedish Handball Leagues consists of the men’s Handbollsligan with 14 clubs, and women’s SHE with 12 clubs.
For further media enquiries please contact:
Peter Gentzel
CEO, Svensk Elithandboll
+ 46 733 465468