ARD & ZDF Renew German Olympic Body Deals

Broadcasting agreements have been extended by both ARD and ZDF, generic German public-service broadcasters, vcialis 40mg with various domestic sports federations for another two years.

A deal was brokered by SportA, a sports rights agency that works on behalf of ARD and ZDF, negotiating the media partnership with the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB).

The extended agreement sees the events covered by the existing deal continue to be broadcast on German free-to-air television until the end of 2013.

Events covered in the contract, dubbed the “33er Treaty”, include the Rowing World Cup and badminton’s German Open. The contract also includes sports such as speed-skating, weightlifting, bowling and mini golf. 11 of the 33 Olympic sports represented by the DOSB are included in the arrangement.

ZDF sports director Dieter Gruschwitz confirmed that “the presence of many Olympic and non-Olympic sports in our schedule is now secure,” while ARD sports coordinator Axel Balkausky noted that signing the contract was important “in order for us to continue to represent a wide range of sports.”

Balkausky added: “We were able to show 80 different sports on our channels last year, which was chiefly made possible thanks to the extensive portfolio of sporting events from this contract.”

In addition to television rights, ARD and ZDF also have the ability to broadcast events online and through mobile phones as per the agreement negotiated between SportA and RTV Sport, the agency working on behalf of the DOSB.

The DOSB is made up of 33 Olympic governing bodies and 29 non-Olympic sports associations.