Lagardère Sports to distribute media rights to Athletics World Cup

Following the launch of The Athletics World Cup – a new, international event that will see the world’s top athletic nations come together and compete at the London Stadium, Lagardère Sports today announced it has agreed an exclusive, worldwide agreement to represent the media rights for the tournament. The deal will see the agency distribute media rights globally (excluding UK and Ireland) in 2018.

The event will showcase eight nations competing under one roof, across an exciting, jam packed two days. With an innovative new format, the Athletics World Cup will feature all field and track events up to and including the 1500m, with just one man and one woman from each nation selected in each discipline, in a straight final. The competition will also see a thrilling nation versus nation format where individual athletes will collect points for their home nations – the team with the most points will then be crowned the World Cup winners. Lagardère Sports will use their global network and knowledge of innovative broadcasting techniques to ensure all the action reaches viewers at home, straight from the stadium.

The 2018 edition of the event will take place on the 14^th and 15^th of July and with Great Britain, USA, France, Germany, Poland, China, South Africa and Jamaica participating. Each nation will compete for a share in the $2million prize pot as well as the inaugural World Cup trophy. The first edition will also see all nations select a female athlete as team captain, in partnership with the Mayor of London’s #BehindEveryGreatCity campaign.

David White, President Media, Lagardère Sports said: “The news about the launch of the Athletics World Cup is sure to delight both existing and new athletics fans across the world. Viewers will be keen to see their favourite athletes compete in a new event, and as a market leader in media rights we’re excited to work with Athletics World Cup Ltd to help them build the global visibility of the tournament. Through our expertise and knowledge of both traditional and modern broadcasting platforms, we can bring these fans closer to all the action taking place on the track and field, whilst creating maximum value.”

Niels de Vos, CEO, UK Athletics said: “We’re delighted to appoint Lagardère Sports to this crucial role ensuring the Athletics World Cup reaches the biggest possible global broadcast audience. We’ve already had huge international interest in the event and we are delighted that Lagardère Sports can offer us great experience in this area.”

• More information about the event can be found here

Lagardère Sports is a leader in media sales with a dynamic media team and an expansive global network that allows it to effectively package and sell rights around the world. The Athletics World Cup is part of the agency’s diverse portfolio of international sports properties.