Seven has boosted its sports offering with the annoucement this week that it will broadcast a suite of triathlon and multisport events across its primary channel and 7mate.
The new deal includes all Asia Pacific Ironman and 70.3 events. Throughout 203/14, the following races in Australia and New Zealand will be covered on Seven or 7mate:
- Noosa Triathlon Multi Sport Festival
- Ironman 70.3 Mandurah – Aust Pro Championships
- Ironman Western Australia – 10th Anniversary
- Ironman 70.3 Auckland – Asia-Pacific Championship
- Geelong 70.3/Multisport
- Ironman New Zealand – 30th Anniversary year
- Mooloolaba Triathlon Festival – ITU World Cup
- Ironman Melbourne – Asia-Pacific Championship
- Ironman Australia – Port Macquarie Australian Championship Ironman Cairns – Cairns Adventure Festival
The deal does not include live coverage of events but a commitment to show highlight programs. Seven will begin with a two-hour highlights program of this weekend’s Noosa Triathlon, which will be broadcast nationally on 7mate on Sunday 10 November. Seven has already begun leveraging the new rights deal by having its Weekend Sunrise sports and weather bulletins hosted live from the Noosa event.
The announcement of the new rights deal, follows a report in the AFR that Ten had commenced Federal Court action against the World Triathlon Corporation in relation to the Hawaii Ironman event (Seven broadcast highlights of the event last month after the WTC terminated its contract with Ten). According to the report, “Ten had the contract to broadcast [Ironman] races between 2011 and 2015” and Ten have claimed the network was in the midst of renegotiating the broadcast rights agreement before it was terminated by the WTC.
For clarity, these Ironman events should not to be confused with the Nutri-Grain Ironman series. This series will be broadcast by Channel Nine, after the series severed ties with Sports & Entertainment Limited (SEL) and as a result Ten lost its broadcast contract for the series (Ten’s contract was with SEL).
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