IAAF agrees six-year broadcasting rights deal with CCTV in China

By Mike Rowbottom

October 24 - The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has set in place a new six-year broadcasting deal with China Central Television (CCTV).

The agreement was signed in Beijing by the IAAF President Lamine Diack (pictured top, left) and CCTV's controller of sports, Jiang Heping (pictured top, right) – the setting being the recently completed 53-floor CCTV Tower, which is now one of the city's landmark buildings, serving as a base for 20,000 staff.

CCTV has been appointed by Dentsu Inc, the IAAF's exclusive agency for marketing rights worldwide and for media rights outside Europe and Africa, for a six year period from 2014-2019.

The agreement covers three editions of the IAAF World Championships, which include the venues of the last two Olympic Games, Beijing 2015 and London 2017, as well as the 2019 World Championships.

CCTV will also have the right to broadcast the IAAF World Athletics Series in this period, including the World Indoor Championships, the Continental Cup, the World Junior Championships, the World Youth Championships, the World Cross Country Championships and the recently created World Relays.

"I am particularly pleased that this agreement will ensure that coverage of the IAAF's most important events will not only be seen in China but by the broadest possible audience, thanks to CCTV's status as the country's most important free to air broadcaster," Diack said.

"One of the key pillars of the IAAF's commercial and sporting strategy is to fully develop the potential of our sport in Asia, and this deal is a major step in this direction."

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