Beijing: In a major happening yesterday, the BWF and Wanda signed an exclusive contract for all media distribution and sponsorship rights. The deal which is supposed to boost badminton to the next level by centralising BWF’s worldwide commercial rights is done with Wanda with its flagship organization Infront Sports & Media.
The landmark agreement for the centralised media and sponsorship rights will be covering all BWF Major Events (Sudirman Cup, Thomas & Uber Cup Finals and the World Championships) and a revamped BWF Series – encompassing the current BWF World Superseries and Grand Prix Gold events (scheduled to be relaunched in 2018) for the period of eight years.
The signing ceremony which happened at Wanda Plaza in Beijing detailed the eight-year partnership which include all commercial rights on an exclusive basis (media, marketing, digital, and betting) from 2018-2025. This is one of the rare moments for BWF as prior to this BWF hasn’t worked with same company for both media and sponsorship.
Infront Sports & Media will be one global partner for both media and sponsorship rights distribution and it will support the federation with providing host broadcast, post-production and broadcaster servicing across all BWF Major Events. Infront Sports & Media, additionally, will conduct a full review of BWF’s digital landscape to ensure optimization of all channels to reach badminton’s 500 million fans globally, with major proportion coming from China, South-East Asia and northern Europe.
It is these countries which had the medal spread at the recent Rio 2016 Olympic Games; nine of the 15 medals going to different countries.
Speaking about the deal as “a partnership that will give badminton new momentum”, BWF President Poul-Erik Høye said, ‘One of our key objectives is to boost badminton’s entertainment profile. We want to engage and excite our fans more and this union with Infront is a clear step in that direction. Their reputation precedes them and we look forward to Infront sprinkling their sports-marketing stardust across the badminton landscape – and helping our sport to shine even brighter,”
Noting it to be in line with the BWF’s goals in its Strategic Plan 2016-2020 and Welcoming Wanda and Infront to the BWF family, he added that BWF anticipates that a fruitful partnership with Infront will help the organisation’s ultimate vision of ‘Giving Every Child a Chance to Play for Life’ as badminton reaches new heights and frontiers.
Speaking about the association, Wang Jianlin, Chairman of the Wanda Group, said: “This landmark agreement with the BWF is a further step towards developing Wanda’s influence in the international sports landscape. Wanda will endeavour to bring as many benefits to the sport of badminton as possible. In addition, we will ensure Infront’s invaluable expertise across both media and marketing sales as well as broadcast and digital will be fully utilised to help propel the sport worldwide to further success.”
The World governing body of Badminton’s Marketing Chair Nigel Skelt highlighted the partnership’s tangible benefits to BWF event hosts, “The importance of this partnership both financially and in terms of exposure for the sport is crucial for BWF and the whole badminton community. The partnership will not only support the BWF as the governing body, but will also directly benefit member associations hosting our different tournaments.”
Adding further about the expectations of the organization from the partnering company, he said, “We are certain Infront will help all BWF stakeholders to keep improving the standard of our overall delivery of events, while also ensuring the stable and ongoing financial growth that has underpinned badminton’s very encouraging development in recent years. “
The new association is supposed to be increasing the popularity of Badminton across the globe which has been among the core goals of the world governing body.