CBC Sports Announces Exclusive Four-Year Partnership With FINA

CBC Sports today announced a four-year partnership with FINA (the Fédération Internationale de Natation), the governing body for 208 national aquatics federations. The agreement sees CBC Sports become the exclusive Canadian home to all major international FINA competitions through 2020 beginning with the 17th FINA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS in Budapest, Hungary, July 15–30, 2017.

Over the course of the four-year partnership, CBC Sports will provide extensive coverage of FINA championship and world cup events in disciplines including swimming, diving, synchronized swimming, water polo, high diving and open water swimming. These events will be made available to Canadian audiences as part of CBC Sports’ ROAD TO THE OLYMPIC GAMES and live streamed at cbcsports.ca and on the CBC Sports app for iOS and Android devices.

The first of its kind in Canada, this long-term partnership was made possible in part through the enthusiastic and unanimous support of Canada’s National Sport Organizations (NSOs) for aquatic disciplines: Swimming Canada, Diving Plongeon Canada, Synchro Canada and Water Polo Canada. CBC Sports’ coverage of FINA events will benefit these NSOs by helping to shine a brighter spotlight on these high-performance sports and the Canadian and international athletes who compete in them year-round.

CBC Sports’ coverage of the 17th FINA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS in Budapest will include daily live streaming from July 15–30 as well as television broadcasts from the event each weekend as part of ROAD TO THE OLYMPIC GAMES hosted by Scott Russell. Television coverage will feature commentary from CBC Sports’ team of experts including Olympic Games medallist and former World Champion diver Blythe Hartley and Olympian and renowned swimming coach Byron MacDonald, who will provide analysis for diving and swimming events, respectively; as well as play-by-play commentator Elliotte Friedman and pool-side reporter Anson Henry.

The FINA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS are the first of several World Championship events CBC Sports will bring to viewers in Canada this summer and in the years ahead thanks to additional multi-year partnerships. Upcoming coverage also includes the IAAF World Championships London 2017 from August 4–13 and the 2017 FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Montreal from October 2–8.

CBC Sports has also reached an agreement with Swimming Canada to broadcast the Canadian Championships, Canadian Junior Championships, National Team Trials, Olympic Trials and CAN-AM Para-Swimming Championships through 2020, further extending the reach of Swimming Canada’s athletes and their stories to the widest possible audience in Canada.

Quotes:

"CBC Sports is honoured to be named the exclusive Canadian home to these prestigious FINA events through 2020, and we look forward to offering audiences the most extensive coverage of aquatic sports ever in Canada," said Greg Stremlaw, executive director, CBC Sports, and general manager, Olympics. "As we saw at Rio 2016, some of Canada’s brightest stars compete in aquatic events, and this unprecedented partnership made possible by the Canadian NSOs will allow us to showcase both established high-performance athletes and those on the rise throughout their journey to the top of the international podium."

"FINA is very happy with this agreement with CBC Sports. Canada is a strong FINA partner and its stars are shining in our six aquatic disciplines," said Dr. Julio C. Maglione, president, FINA. "This co-operation will further enhance the visibility of Aquatics in the country, popularising the FINA events and its athletes. Moreover, it will highlight the attractiveness of our Sport and the strength of Aquatics in the five continents."

"We are looking forward to working with CBC Sports and their tremendous team of professionals," said Ahmed El-Awadi, CEO, Swimming Canada. "This is a very good agreement for Canadian swimming, and all aquatic sports in Canada. We have a bright future ahead. Having CBC Sports as our broadcast partner will help highlight our programs and the inspiring performances of our athletes."

"This is great news for the Canadian aquatic family and diving fans. We’re thrilled that our stars will be showcased even more on Canada’s Olympic Network," said Penny Joyce, COO of Diving Plongeon Canada. "Most importantly, the four-year partnership between CBC Sports and FINA will add World Championships to the broadcast schedule, complementing the network’s coverage of the FINA Diving Grand Prix and the FINA Diving World Series competitions each year. Canadian Olympic fans will now have the opportunity to follow our stars even closer as they compete in the major yearly competitions prior to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, starting this summer in Budapest."

"Synchro Canada is thrilled about the opportunities CBC Sports brings to our sport as a Canadian rightsholder for FINA Aquatic events," said Jackie Buckingham, CEO, Synchro Canada. "Broadcasting and streaming more international-level synchronized swimming events will help increase the profile of our amazing athletes, and allow us to share their inspiring stories with all Canadians."

"It’s a great day for Aquatic sports and Water Polo in Canada. This new partnership with CBC Sports represents a unique opportunity and it will certainly help shine a light on our sport," said Conrad Hadubiak, president, Water Polo Canada. "Canadians from all over the country will be able to follow Water Polo Canada National Teams at the international level, and witness outstanding performances from our athletes at the 2017 FINA World Championships in Budapest, Hungary."

For more information, please contact:

Simon Bassett, CBC

simon.bassett@cbc.ca

416-205-8533 (t); 416-988-1590 (m)

Pedro Adrega, FINA

Email: press@fina.org

+41 21 310 47 16 (t)

Camille Chappelet, FINA

Email: media@fina.org

Nathan White, Swimming Canada

Email: nwhite@swimming.ca

613-260-1348 x2002 (t); 613-866-7946 (m)

Maelle Dancause, Diving Plongeon Canada

Email: maelle@diving.ca

514-475-4540 (m)

Stéphane Côté, Synchro Canada

Email: stephane@synchro.ca

418-420-2125 (m)

Mylène Turcotte-Fitzgerald, Water Polo Canada

Email: mfitzgerald@waterpolo.ca

613-748-5682 x325 (t)

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