2014 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Gets Record TV Exposure

The 2014 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship, which took place from 9 to 25 May in Minsk, Belarus, has established new records in global television exposure, it has been revealed today.

The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) and its exclusive marketing partner for the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship, Infront Sports & Media, have announced a total of over 6,100 broadcast hours (+35% as compared to the 2013 edition) as the event was transmitted on TV and digital platforms in over 150 countries and territories (+29%). These are the highest results ever achieved.

The cumulative audience totals at more than 945 million, which is the second best result in history. 

The official mobile application of the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship powered by Škoda was downloaded more than 314,000 times – outnumbering the previous year’s results by 9 per cent.

René Fasel, President of the IIHF, commented: “The media reach for the 2014 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship is truly remarkable – especially because it has been not a one-off, but a constant and significant growth over the last 15 years. The media performance of the flagship event in world ice hockey puts the success of our long-term partnership with Infront in numbers. Also, the fact that the programming was enthusiastically received both in traditional as well as in emerging ice hockey markets confirms the future growth vision we have for the sport.”

Bruno Marty, Executive Director Winter Sports, added: “For the third time in a row, we have significantly surpassed the 900 million mark in cumulative audience for the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship. This underlines the strength of the tournament, even in a year where other major events such as the Olympic Winter Games and the FIFA World Cup have competed for viewer attention. Together with the plus of 35 per cent in exposure, this is also of great benefit for the loyal sponsors that have accompanied and supported the growth of the tournament during many years.”