Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games Broadcast in 43 Sub-Saharan Africa Countries and Territories

Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games Broadcast in 43 Sub-Saharan Africa Countries and Territories

LAUSANNE and ZUG, Switzerland, April 22, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --



- Infront and TV Media Sport successfully managed Olympic media rights distribution in
Africa: Agreements sealed with 30 free to air national networks and TV5 Monde Africa



Sports fans across the entire Sub-Saharan Africa region were able to follow the story
of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games on broadcast media in unprecedented scale and
depth. In a collaborative approach, led by the leading international sports marketing
company Infront Sports & Media and supported with operations by the French-based sports
event and television agency TV Media Sport (TVMS), Sochi 2014 coverage was achieved in 43
countries and territories within the region.



The wide exposure achieved was as a result of an exclusive media rights agreement
between the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Infront, covering free-to-air
television and radio rights, alongside non-exclusive internet and mobile rights in
Sub-Saharan Africa. The programming offered to broadcasters in January and February
included a live/delayed signal and highlights from all competitions as well as full
coverage of the opening and closing ceremonies of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games.



The successful media distribution effort has helped to further grow local interest in
future Olympic events - particularly as the daily thirty minutes highlight programmes
produced were tailored for African audiences with a focus on African athletes and the most
popular competitions, complemented by the best moments of all disciplines. Broadcasters in
turn further drove awareness and appeal for the Games through their own promotions and
programming.



Great success in 30 African countries



Overall, the Sochi 2014 programming - including live broadcasts of the Opening and
Closing Ceremonies as well as the highlights programmes - was made available on national
TV in 30 countries. In addition the pan-regional network TV5 Monde Africa aired the
programming available in all 43 sub-Saharan countries.



Timo Lumme, Managing Director, IOC Television and Marketing, said: "This project
underlines the universality of the Olympic Movement and demonstrates that the Olympic
Games are more than a sporting event. Today every continent wants to be part of and
closely follow the Olympic Games, irrespective of the sports tradition of the country. We
are looking forward to repeating this effort for the upcoming Youth Olympic Games in
Nanjing together with our partner Infront."



Stephan Herth, Executive Director at Infront, added: "Securing Olympic Winter Games
coverage in the entire Sub-Saharan region in a first distribution attempt means we fully
delivered on our promise to the IOC and sports fans in Africa. Although winter sport is
still a new area for most African broadcasters, their appetite for tailor-made broadcast
coverage of Olympic Games was significant. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive
and the event coverage had a huge impact with the local audiences. This success provides
us with a great basis for upcoming IOC distribution tasks."



Hédi Hamel, CEO of TV Media Sport, added: "The wide exposure we have achieved with
our network of national and local broadcasters in a short lead time was a great success.
We have connected the African TV audience to the biggest universal sports event. The
quality of our partnership with Infront is a developing force and will greatly contribute
to the penetration of major international sports events in the continent."



For further information, please contact:




Jörg Polzer / Nike Möhle
Corporate Communications
Infront Sports & Media AG
Tel. +41-41-723-17-18
Fax +41-41-723-15-16
press@infrontsports.com
http://www.infrontsports.com

IOC Media Relations Team
Tel: +41-21-621-6000
pressoffice@olympic.org
http://www.olympic.org


Infront Sports & Media


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