World Athletics, Infront Agree on New Media Rights Deal - Sponsor Spotlight

(ATR) World Athletics and Infront bring their international media rights collaboration indoors.

A new agreement announced on Dec. 11 means Infront, a Wanda Sports Group company, will be responsible for sourcing international broadcasters for the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meetings for the next three years.

The broadcast package for 2021 will include six meetings, beginning in Karlsruhe, Germany on January 29, and followed by Boston, USA; Lievin, France; New York, USA; Torun, Poland and Madrid, Spain.

The collaboration builds on Infront’s 10-year exclusive international media rights agreement for the World Athletics Continental Tour and five-year international media rights agreement for the Wanda Diamond League from 2025, both signed in September 2019.

World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said this agreement was an important step in the growth of the indoor tour.

"The World Athletics Indoor Tour has grown from strength to strength since it was first established in 2016 and this agreement marks a new stage in its development as this will be the first time that we will be able to sell the full tour to broadcasters as a consolidated package, rather than as separate meetings," Coe said in a statement.

"The agreement also guarantees that fans in every country will have the opportunity to watch the tour, either through a rights-holding broadcaster or via a livestream."

Yonex Adds to Badminton Portfolio

Badminton World Federation (BWF) announced this week that Yonex will be the official equipment supplier for the season-ending HSBC BWF World Tour Finals in Bangkok, Thailand from January 27-31, 2021.

Yonex will supply badminton equipment for players, technical officials and the Field of Play.

"We are thrilled to have YONEX on board for badminton’s much anticipated return, in particular the staging of our signature event of the season, the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals," BWF General Secretary, Thomas Lund, said in a statement

President of Yonex, Kusaki Hayashida, added: "YONEX looks forward to working with BWF, all athletes and officials so that the wonderfulness and enjoyment of badminton can be experienced again by badminton fans around the world."

Yonex is also the long-standing official equipment partner of BWF Major Championships and is the title sponsor for the Yonex Thailand Open on January 12.

USA Triathlon Extends One Partnership, Renews Another

It was a busy week for USA Triathlon, which extended its partnership with Toyota and renewed with TrainingPeaks, one of its longest-standing corporate partners.

USA Triathlon says Toyota will remain the organization’s Exclusive Mobility & Automotive Partner. The company will directly support USA Triathlon’s top elite athletes in the lead-up to the postponed Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games next summer and will continue its groundbreaking support for the Toyota U.S. Paratriathlon National Team.

A worldwide Olympic sponsor through 2024, Toyota is an official partner of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and International Paralympic Committee (IPC), as well as the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC).

While the length of the Toyota extension was not disclosed, USA Triathlon did reveal it has renewed with TrainingPeaks through 2023.

TrainingPeaks has served as USA Triathlon’s Official Training Software since 2005. The renewal ensures that the National Governing Body, its members and coaches will continue to receive the most comprehensive training, analysis and planning capabilities to elevate the sport.

Written by Gerard Farek

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