Premier Sports Renews UK Deal to Air IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship

February 25, 2014

Premier Sports will continue to air the International Ice Hockey Federation’s (IIHF) Ice Hockey World Championship after securing an extended partnership with IIHF media partners. Infront Sports & Media

The renewed multi-platform agreement spans 2014 to 2017 and covers 15 games from the annual IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship, shown in full length on Premier Sports.

In addition, all Great Britain’s national ice hockey team games at the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship and/or Division 1 Group A and B will be aired in full length across the UK and Ireland. For 2014, Team Great Britain is competing in Division 1 Group B, which is held from 20 to 26 April in Vilnius, Lithuania. The 2014 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship will take place in Minsk, Belarus from 9 to 25 May.

Premier Sports is currently received through satellite and cable in Great Britain via the SKY and Virgin platforms. This means Premier is available via paid access to over 15 million homes. The channel will benefit from an HDTV signal produced by Infront with more than 20 cameras around the ice rink.

Richard Sweeney, General Manager of Premier Sports, said: “Premier Sports programming content is clearly decided by audience demand and this decision to extend the initial agreement was a reflection of the fan interest for ice hockey. We have continued to expand our ice hockey portfolio, which now includes the American NHL, the British EIHL Elite League as well as long-term coverage of the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship meaning Premier Sports really is your home for hockey with over 600 games available to view every year.”

Bruno Marty, Infront’s Executive Director Winter Sports, said: “It is a great sign of sustainable expansion that the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship is now accessible in a European core market for the long-term. With the two-prong approach, fans will be able to follow both their British national team as well as the top games of the annual IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship.”