Under the agreement, from January Euronews will produce a weekly sports-programme "Sports United" in each of the 13 languages it currently broadcasts in, as well as several special magazine shows, focusing on specific sports and news from the Federations.

The agreement was announced by SportAccord President Marius Vizer at the opening session of the SportAccord IF Forum here today.

Among those who attended the first day of the three-day event was Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee, whose plans for an Olympic-dedicated television channel are well advanced.

"We are very excited about the mutually beneficial partnership with Euronews," said Vizer.

"This partnership will enable premium exposure for SportAccord members and at the same time raise interest in all sports of the masses.

"Euronews, the international and multi-lingual news channel offers us the opportunity to highlight the richness of our Federations' activities and to make it accessible to a broad audience."



Euronews, which was created in 1993 and has its headquarters in Lyon-Écully, claims to be the most watched news channel in the world.

Michael Peters, chief executive of Euronews, promised that the deal would not threaten Federations' current deals with broadcasters but was intended to be "complementary".

He added: "Today, it is very complex to buy and trade distribution rights for sport events.

"We decided to take a more global, high-level approach.

"SportAccord showed interest in the idea.

"Furthermore, this agreement came as a natural fit.

"At Euronews, our editorial team of over 400 journalists from 30 nationalities represents our channel's diversity. It was natural to us to partner with SportAccord, an organisation that represents a broad, and nearly unlimited diversity of athletes, sports and disciplines. "

Taishan Sports Industry Group chairman Bian Zhi Lang and SportAccord President Marius Vizer after signing their four-year deal

The deal with Euronews was one of two announced by SportAccord following a Council meeting earlier in the day.

They also signed a four-year agreement with Taishan Sports Industry Group of China which means they will provide all sports equipment and supplies, including surfaces, to SportAccord.

"The expertise of Taishan Sports Industry Group will bring great value to all SportAccord events and enable SportAccord to reach out to a wider cross-section of society across the world," said Vizer.

The deal is potentially a major coup for SportAccord with plans to launch the World Beach Games and World Urban Games to join a portfolio of events that already includes the World Combat Games and the World Mind Games.

"This agreement will provide great synergy between SportAccord and Taishan Sports Industry Group," said Bian Zhi Liang, chairman of the Taishan Sports Industry Group.

"Being the official suppliers of equipment and surfaces of all SportAccord events, we will be able to ensure uniformity across sports and gain penetration into newer markets at the global level."



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