Champions Hockey League and Infront extend Partnership until 2028
New five-year prolongation of media and marketing partnership to run until 2027/28 season
BEIJING, Dec. 17, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Infront, a Wanda Sports Group company (NASDAQ: WSG), has been appointed as the Champions Hockey League's (CHL) exclusive media and marketing partner after the decision was ratified by the 33 CHL shareholders (26 clubs, 6 leagues and the International Ice Hockey Federation) at their extraordinary General Assembly Meeting, in Cham, Switzerland, last week.
The new agreement covers a period of five years from 2023 to 2028 and includes media and marketing rights, overall venue management, digital services and management of broadcast production.
The partnership allows CHL and Infront to continue its long-term development of the CHL building on a foundation which has stimulated consistent growth since the competition's launch in 2014.
Peter Zahner, CHL President said: “Signing another five-year extension is a very strong message for fans and media – it first of all shows that Infront strongly believes in our product, but it also demonstrates the big commitment of all our shareholders and partners who will continue to work hard on establishing the CHL as Europe’s greatest hockey competition. The prolongation gives us long-term stability to develop a premium fan experience and club ice hockey in Europe in general."
Bruno Marty, Senior Vice President ProSports at Infront, said: “This agreement confirms our leading position on the global ice hockey stage as the premier source for premium rights and properties. Infront has been part of the CHL's DNA from the start and its continued growth is something we aim to build on through this new agreement. We have a shared vision on what could be achieved over the next few years and look forward to delivering pan-European hockey to a broader audience.”
About Wanda Sports Group
Wanda Sports Group (Nasdaq: WSG) is a leading global sports events, media and marketing platform with a mission to unite people in sports and enable athletes and fans to live their passions and dreams. Through our businesses, including Infront and The IRONMAN Group, we have significant intellectual property rights, long-term relationships and broad execution capabilities, enabling us to deliver unrivalled sports event experiences, creating access to engaging content and building inclusive communities. We offer a comprehensive array of events, marketing and media services through three primary segments: Mass Participation, Spectator Sports and Digital, Production, Sports Solutions (DPSS). Our full-service platform creates value for our partners and clients as well as other stakeholders in the sports ecosystem, from rights owners, to brands and advertisers, and to fans and athletes.
Headquartered in Beijing, China, Wanda Sports Group has more than 60 offices and 1,600 employees around the world. For more information, please visit investor.wsg.cn.
About Infront
Connecting fans and consumers to the greatest sports events, Infront, a Wanda Sports Group company, offers everything an event or commercial partner needs to be successful. With a team of over 1,000 experts working from 45 offices across more than 16 countries around the world, Infront is equipped to tackle any challenge – be it innovative digital solutions, world-class event operations, international media rights distribution, sponsorship sales and activations or cutting-edge media production. Headquartered in Switzerland, Infront is passionate and #AllAboutSports. @infrontsports
About the Champions Hockey League
The league is fully owned and operated by Champions Hockey League AG/Ltd which includes, as its shareholders, 26 European clubs, six National Leagues and the International Ice Hockey Federation. The Shareholder Leagues are from: Austria (EBEL), Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland. The best teams from the Challenger Leagues (Belarus, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Norway, Poland and Slovakia) are extended Wild Cards. The 2019/20 season includes 32 teams from 13 leagues who battle in 125 games from August to February to be crowned Europe’s club champions. The CHL season culminates in a one-game Final showdown to be played on 4 February 2020.
Safe Harbor Statement
This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include but are not limited to Wanda Sports management quotes and the Group’s financial outlook. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as “will,” “estimate,” “project,” “predict,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “potential,” “plan,” “goal” and similar statements. Wanda Sports may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its periodic reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in its annual report to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Such statements involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about: the Group’s goals and strategies; growth of the Chinese e-commerce market; Chinese governmental policies relating to the Group’s industry and general economic conditions in China; and assumptions underlying or related to any of the foregoing as well as risks, uncertainties, and other factors described in “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in the Company’s registration statement on Form F-1, which is available on the SEC’s website at . Additional information will be made available in the Company’s annual report on Form 20-F for the year ending December 31, 2019 and other filings that the Company makes from time to time with the SEC. In addition, any forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on assumptions that the Company believes to be reasonable as of this date. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release or to reflect new information or the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law.
For more information, please contact:
Wanda Sports Group
Edith Kwan
Tel: +86 (10) 8558 7456
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