Infront to Handle Commercial Rights to European Ice Hockey Club Competition
October 23, 2013
Infront Sports & Media has been appointed as the exclusive commercial partner for the new pan-European club ice hockey competition, canada sale the Board of the European Ice hockey Club Competition (ECC) announced today.
The cross-season, cialis international league format, featuring the top clubs from across Europe, will start as of the 2014-2015 season.
Infront will exclusively handle all commercial and media related areas of the new competition, which is being launched and fully backed by all relevant stakeholders in national and international ice hockey. The decision to enter the all-encompassing partnership was made at an ECC Board meeting taking place in Berlin last week.
Infront will be responsible for the worldwide distribution of media rights, the centralised marketing rights, merchandising rights as well as the high-quality multimedia production of all 149 ECC games in HD format. In addition, Infront will provide substantial support to the ECC rights holders in the overall development of the new competition, delivering services in the area of digital media, branding, promotion and rights delivery.
The new competition, which will start in August 2014, is fully owned and operated by the European Club Competition (ECC), which includes – as its shareholders – top European clubs, six national leagues and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). This means that all levels of national and international ice hockey are represented in the planning and implementation of the annual event.
The inaugural season will see 40 clubs from the national leagues in Austria, the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland take part, including the respective national champions and regular season winners. Discussions with the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) regarding the participation of KHL clubs are still on-going. The new brand name of the international league, which will stretch out from August to February each season, will be communicated in early 2014.
Anders Ternbom, Chairman of the ECC and representative of the clubs within the board, said: “The time is now right to establish a pan-European league for top club ice hockey. We all believe in the potential of this project and we are positive that with all stakeholders closely involved and having Infront as proven marketing partner, we will put in place a successful, competitive and financially viable league.”
Gernot Tripcke, Managing Director of the German Ice Hockey League (DEL) and representative of the leagues within the ECC Board, commented: “With the new European Club Competition we will create additional value – sportive, financial and emotional – for the European clubs, leagues and fans. Infront’s comprehensive and very detailed approach provides a perfect fit for the needs of the new league and its stakeholders. We are very confident to have the best partner on our side to develop a new, strong ice hockey property over the next coming years.”
Kalervo Kummola, IIHF Vice President and representative of the international federation within the ECC Board: “In many major European markets, club ice hockey is played on an impressive sportive level and is enjoyed by thousands of committed fans. It is therefore the logical next step to take club ice hockey to another level and go international. We are convinced that the joint forces of clubs, leagues and federations backing the ECC will make this project a boost for the European winter sports landscape.”
Philippe Blatter, President & CEO of Infront, said: “Ice hockey is a core element of our company’s DNA and the partnership with the ECC is a key priority for Infront. With Infront’s expertise, experience and strength in innovation we will together, with all stakeholders of the ECC, leave no stones unturned to position this league as one of the strongest and most popular pan-European club competitions — a ‘must have’ for players, fans, and commercial partners.”
Infront has already entered a partnership with the sportsman media group, collaborating on the media rights exploitation in German speaking territories, for the distribution of certain marketing rights as well as selected specialised services