Baku, February 2, AZERTAC

Baku 2015 European Games has signed contracts to ensure the inaugural event will be broadcast in Spain, Portugal, Estonia, Latvia and Slovenia.

The new deals, with public broadcasters RTVE (Spain), ERR (Estonia), LTV (Latvia), RTV Slovenija (Slovenia), and subscription-based Sport TV (Portugal), all include daily coverage commitments or a minimum number of sport competition hours to be screened during the Games. Baku 2015 now has agreements in place to allow over one billion viewers worldwide to follow the event.

Mr Simon Clegg, Chief Operating Officer of Baku 2015, said: “I’m very happy to announce that Baku 2015 has signed broadcast agreements with five more leading networks from across Europe, bringing our running total of announced countries to 47 worldwide.

“It is important that as many people as possible are able to share in the inaugural edition of the European Games this summer. With 130 days to go until the Opening Ceremony, these new deals are a great step in achieving that aim.”

In addition to providing extended competition coverage throughout the Games, Spain’s RTVE will screen the Opening and Closing Ceremonies live. The network will also air a series of ‘Road to Baku’ programmes focusing on preparations for Baku 2015, while Sport TV will cover the Games on a dedicated 24-hour channel to be broadcast in their home market of Portugal, as well as in Mozambique and Angola.

RTV Slovenija, Latvia’s LTV and Estonia’s ERR have also committed to extensive coverage of the Games.

Mr Charlie Wijeratna, Commercial Director of Baku 2015, said: “These agreements will bring the inaugural European Games to tens of millions of viewers across Europe and beyond. All of these broadcasters are Olympic rights holders for Rio 2016, and bring with them a wealth of experience in broadcasting major sports events.

“A key part of Baku 2015’s commercial offering has been our ability to secure broadcast agreements, and I’m delighted that we’re continuing to deliver on this objective. This announcement shows that we are continuing to raise the profile of the event across the continent.”