IEC in Sports signs its first agreements with european television channels for rights to the 2010-2013 world athletics series

Early this week, IEC in Sports signed its first agreements with two major Swedish channels and announced several more agreements with television channels in Portugal, Greece and Finland for coverage of the 2010-2013 World Athletics Series*.

IEC in Sports, a Lagardère Sports subsidiary, announced the signing of several agreements with European television channels for rights to the 2010-2013 World Athletics Series*, including the 2011 World Championships in Daegu, South Korea, and the 2013 World Championships in Moscow.

Last October, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) selected IEC in Sports to manage media rights in Europe and Africa for World Athletics Series events over the next four years.

IEC in Sports signed its first agreements with Sweden’s two largest television channels, TV4 and SVT, followed by Greece’s ERT, Finland’s YLE and Portugal’s RETP, all members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). According to contract terms, the five television channels will cover the IAAF World Athletics Series from 2010 to 2013.

Commenting on the agreement, IAAF president Lamine Diack stated, “These recent agreements with over-the-air channels that have already worked with the IAAF prove that it is still possible to maximize revenue without compromising our reach and ratings. I commend IEC in Sports for their hard work and believe that we can look forward to more good news in future.”

According to Lagardère Sports CEO Olivier Guiguet, “These initial agreements are very encouraging, as they demonstrate growing interest in this type of competition among European audiences and media, as well as illustrating IEC’s expertise in marketing and developing value from media rights, proving that an agency with a bold approach can generate very positive results over the long term for a major sports federation like the IAAF.”