Posted: July 20, 2007

Triathlon: ITU Increases Worldwide Television Distribution

VANCOUVER - The International Triathlon Union (ITU) announced today the addition of three new members to its family of broadcasters in 2007. These new agreements will see the BG Triathlon World Cup Series broadcast on TV2 in Denmark, Sky in Italy and Fox in Serbia. “We are delighted with the progress of the sport this year,” stated ITU Director of Media and Television, Brian Mahony. “2007 has seen a marked increase over previous years, and we hope that we can continue this growth in the coming years.” These deals come at a positive time for the sport of triathlon, which has seen an explosion in media interest in recent months. These arrangements piggyback on a number of ground-breaking television agreements already made by ITU in 2007, including an agreement with Fox Sport Net in the United States, and new agreements in Russia, Greece, Sweden and India. The Des Moines BG Triathlon World Cup held in June was broadcast on NBC in the United States last weekend and received the highest rating for any show in its time slot, beating Tour de France coverage and a British Open Preview program on rival networks. The ITU arranged the recent deals through their in-house media team and in conjunction with their global distribution partner BBC Worldwide. The BG Triathlon World Cup Series is now shown in over 119 countries on all six continents, not including news access. A complete list of ITU Broadcasters can be found at Triathlon.org. About the International Triathlon Union (ITU): ITU is the world governing body for the Olympic sport of Triathlon and all related multi-sport disciplines: Duathlon, Aquathlon and Winter Triathlon. The International Triathlon Union was founded in 1989 and now has over 120 affiliated national federations around the world. It is the only International Federation located in Canada. Triathlon was awarded Olympic status in 1994 and the ITU is the youngest International Federation in the Olympics. Subscribe to the Runner's Web Weekly Digest