International Biathlon Union Signs New EBU Media Partnership Until 2018

The International Biathlon Union (IBU) have signed a partnership with the European Broadcast Union (EBU)that makes the EBU the IBU’s exclusive media partner for four more Biathlon seasons, from 2014 to 2018 inclusive.

The contract extends an unbroken 21-year partnership that began when the IBU was founded, in 1993. 

Under the agreement, the EBU will exploit the global multiplatform media rights to all IBU Biathlon World Cups, IBU World Championships and various other IBU events during the term, guaranteeing free-to-air coverage of elite world Biathlon competitions to a worldwide audience.

The EBU will also provide various other services to the IBU, including provision of a streaming platform on the IBU website, extensive production and transmission guarantees and various contract management, project coordination and implementation services. 

The IBU-EBU cooperation has brought unparalleled success in terms of the TV audience, with a 60% increase in cumulated viewing figures over the last decade. 

The first competition to come under the new agreement will be the Summer Biathlon World Championships, in Tyumen, Russia, from 21-24 August 2014. 

The event content includes all IBU World Cups (36), IBU World Championships (3), IBU Cups (28), IBU Summer Biathlon World Championships (4), IBU European Championships (4) and IBU Youth and Junior World Championships (4), with more than 350 hours of live TV content during the term. 

IBU President Anders Besseberg said: “This long-standing partnership with the EBU and its Biathlon TV members has been one of the cornerstones of the success of our sport, which we have developed into one of the most, if not the most, popular Winter Sport on television.  The EBU and a vast number of other IBU partners have contributed to this success, and we are proud of what we have achieved together.” 

EBU Director Sports & Business Stefan Kuerten added: “We are really pleased to prolong our cooperation with the IBU, a major world sports federation that we’ve worked seamlessly with since 1993. This latest agreement is a win-win for the Olympic sport of Biathlon, for EBU Members and, in particular, for our long-standing partner, the IBU.  We have pushed our multi-services approach further, a move that has been well received by our clients, so we look forward to building on our success and further strengthening the partnership with our Biathlon friends.”