Lagardère Sports and the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF), the international governing body for the sport of weightlifting, have reached a new multiyear media relationship that will run through to 2020.
As the strategic media partner for the IWF, Lagardère Sports will be the host broadcaster for the next three IWF World Championships, which are the Federation’s flagship events. It will also leverage its extensive worldwide network to market the television rights for each event around the world. In addition, the global sports marketing agency will serve as a consultant to the IWF to reimagine the IWF Grand Prix, a series of high-level weightlifting events held throughout the year.
"We’re thrilled to partner with the International Weightlifting Federation and build on this relationship over the next four years," said Dennis Spencer, Senior Vice President - Media, Lagardère Sports. "There is a great appetite for IWF content around the world. Through a long-term strategic partnership, we will be able to give these events the global visibility they deserve, while creating a consistent, high-level product. This will result in a better outcome for everyone involved with the sport of weightlifting - including the fans, athletes, host cities, sponsors and broadcasters."
"The IWF is delighted to work together with Lagardère Sports and further improve the value of its sport portfolio," said Dr. Tamás Aján, IWF President. "Focusing on the development of an effective production and distribution strategy while leveraging the Grand Prix structure will both give more visibility to the sport and competing athletes. We are dedicated to reach these long-term goals with joint efforts."
The 2017 IWF World Championships will be held Nov. 28 - Dec. 5, 2017 in Anaheim, California and is expected to feature more than 500 athletes from 80 countries this year. The 2018 and 2019 events – which will be held in Lima, Peru and Pattaya, Thailand respectively - will also serve as qualifiers for the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games.
Lagardère Sports’ Media Division features a robust network with expertise in content creation, live production and host broadcasting, and sales and distribution of thousands of hours of sports programming per year around the world. Along with the IWF, the agency has media relationships with three FIFA associations - Asian Football Confederation, CONCACAF, and Confederation of African Football - numerous international federations, and event properties on a global, regional and local level.
