Volvo Ocean Race Gain 57 Broadcasters for 2011-12

September 8, 2011

The Volvo Ocean Race using IMG Media its host broadcaster and global media distributor publicised  the first group of broadcast partners for the 2011-12 edition of the race with 57 broadcasters covering over 50 countries.

The list includes several broadcasters in host ports such as Television New Zealand (TVNZ), ed SuperSport (South Africa), TG4 (Ireland), Fox Sports Net (United States), Abu Dhabi Media (UAE) and three broadcast partners in Brazil: Bandsports, ESPN do Brasil and GloboSat. Teledeporte (TDP), owned by Spanish national broadcaster TVE, will provide extensive coverage throughout the race including live national coverage of the race start and opening In-Port Race in Alicante, Spain.

Other broadcast partners include Channel Ten (Australia), ORF (Austria), Rogers Sports Net (Canada), Hi Fidelity (Canada), Guangdong TV (China), Nova Sport (Czech Republic), Sky Pacific (Fiji/Pacific Islands), NOVA Sport (Greece/Cyprus), Neo Sports (India), Indovision (Indonesia), Sports Channel (Israel), Sky Italia (Italy), Fox Sports Latin America (Latin America excluding Brazil), Astro Super Sport (Malaysia), OSN (pan-Middle East), TV4 (Poland), Digi Sport (Romania/Hungary), StarHub (Singapore), SportKlub TV (Southeastern Europe), TV3 (Spain/Catalan) and Sky Sports (United Kingdom).

Among the current list of broadcasters, roughly 75 percent of them have agreed to take the live production of the In-Port Races and Leg Starts in the upcoming race, increasing the amount of Volvo Ocean Race programming from previous races.

Adam Binns, Director of Television, said: “We’re pleased to see the high level of television interest in the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12 and announce our first series of broadcaster deals. The Volvo Ocean Race makes for compelling viewing with its drama and personalities, people living life at the extreme for nine months, an experience that few sports can match.”

Adam Kelly, Senior Vice President and Marketing Director, IMG Media said: “We have seen really strong interest from broadcasters throughout the world and are confident of delivering a record breaking audience for this edition of the Volvo Ocean Race.”

In 2011-12, the Volvo Ocean Race programming will feature nine, one-hour documentaries from each of the off-shore legs along with 13 half-hour shows that will package the highlights of the leg starts and In-Port Races. The content list also features a preview show, mid-race update and holiday special. In addition to world feed programming, many broadcasters are also adding substantial domestic coverage within their territories.

The Volvo Ocean Race television programming will also see a return to live HD coverage of the race: all nine Leg Starts will be available to broadcasters with 60 minutes of live HD coverage, while each of the 10 In-Port Races will feature in a 90-minute live show on select weekends every month from October through to July.

“For this 11th edition of the race, we believe we have a great mix of programming from live, to documentaries, to highlights capturing the local flavour of the stopovers and the epic nature of the event,” added Binns. “Complemented by our video diaries, news clips and webcasts the television programming will feature all the unique aspects of this race that make it such an unmissable event: heroes, cutting-edge technology, speed and human emotion. After a race of 39,000 miles it may all come down to a matter of inches in the Galway In-Port Race on July 7, 2012. Our job is the bring that drama to a global audience of millions.”

The opening In-Port Race in Alicante, Spain kicks off at 1400 local time (1200 GMT/UTC) on Saturday, October 29 with the Start of Leg 1 to Cape Town scheduled for 1400 local time (1300 GMT/UTC) on Saturday, November 5 the following week. Thereafter the In-Port Race will be the day preceding the Leg Start. Each month will feature one leg documentary and one In-Port Race/Start highlight show except next June, which will feature events in both Lisbon, Portugal and Lorient, France.