Infront signs new deals for 2006 FIFA World Cup

Adjust font size:

Infront Sports & Media has announced a broadcast rights agreement with Bulgarian National Television (BNT) for all matches of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, together with the coverage of the Final Draw which will take place at the end of this year. The Final Draw places all qualifying teams in groups for the first round of the tournament and its significance in determining the chances of teams means that it has become a major media occasion in its own right.

The agreement also included the Final of the FIFA Confederations Cup 2005, which concluded on 29th June in Frankfurt with Brazil claiming victory. BNT is the national broadcaster for Bulgaria and was the rights holder for the 2002 World Cup in Korea/Japan.

In another deal, JSC Ukrainian Independent TV Corporation has signed up to a package of FIFA broadcast rights, including the World Cup in Germany.

JSC controls the largest commercial station in the Ukraine - TV Channel Inter - and has purchased exclusive free TV rights for the Ukraine territory in the Ukraine language, including the right to sub-license. The rights package includes all 64 matches of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, as well as the exclusive rights to the Official Preview Series of the event. The company has also acquired rights to the FIFA World Youth Championship 2005 (Under-20) currently taking place in the Netherlands, with the final on July 2.

With still a year to go to the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Infront's sales team is well on the way to completing its job by finalizing distribution for the event taking place in Germany. Overall, world sales have reached 87% of the potential total. Five teams have already qualified for the prestigious event including Japan, Iran, Korea Republic, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, plus the host country Germany.