Having announced several deals for its prestigious series of IAAF World Athletics Series rights over the past few weeks, Swedish-based media rights expert IEC in Sports is continuing its wave of positive news, just weeks ahead of the IAAF World Indoor Athletics Championships from Doha, Qatar.

The new agreements come with EBU Members, YLE from Finland and RTV from Slovenia. Perhaps the most surprising addition to the list is that of Lumiere TV of Cyprus, the pre-eminent Pay-TV broadcaster on the Mediterranean Island.

Finland’s YLE Head of Sport Kari Mänty, welcomed the deal, adding “We are delighted to be able to continue our valuable partnership with IAAF, having been loyal and committed broadcast partners of the IAAF World Athletics Series for many years. Following excellent ratings from Berlin, it is clear to us that the sport of Athletics is very important to YLE and we are proud to be able to broadcast International Athletics events on YLE channels for the coming years. YLE is looking forward to start its co-operation with IAAF new commercial partner, IEC in Sports.”

Jonas Persson, CEO of IEC in Sports, welcomed the deals, saying “This next wave of deals on IAAF World Athletics Series follows a strong period of market study and commercial review”. He concluded that “the tender processes in Greece/Cyprus and the Nordic Countries are clear examples of how a determined agency approach can yield very positive results for a major sports Federation like IAAF”.

Successful Pay-TV broadcaster, Lumiere, secured exclusive rights to the IAAF World Athletics Series in Cyprus, after beating off a bid from rivals in the territory in a tender process which IEC concluded before Christmas.

“Lumiere TV is very excited to have been awarded IAAF's Premiere Package of Events - IAAF World Athletics Series 2010-2013. We commend the IAAF and its media partner IEC in Sports for the innovative marketing approach, ending EBU exclusivity and making the package available to all media companies. For the Cyprus market this means the IAAF World Championship events will now be able to fulfil its full commercial potential, and we can guarantee a significant increase in number of broadcast hours,” commented George Xinaris, Managing Director, Lumiere TV.

Persson welcomed this unparalleled Pay-TV venture in Cyprus, saying “This deal is a clear testament to the open-mindedness and vision of IAAF in an ever changing television landscape. IAAF carefully considered all of the alternatives we gave it in Cyprus and in the end, the deal we proposed was simply too competitive on all commercial counts”. He concluded that “The tender in Cyprus has once again shown how valuable market knowledge and a creative approach to selling can yield optimum results”.

Commenting on the deal, Lamine Diack, IAAF President said “These latest agreements, with numerous free-to-air broadcasters with whom the IAAF was previously associated, proves that it is still possible to maximise revenue potential without giving up on reach and ratings. I commend IEC in Sports for their diligence and believe that we can look forward to many more positive announcements in the future.”

* selected territories/rights