The
World Championship Sports Network (WCSN), the first network devoted exclusively to showcasing the world's best athletes in major international sports competitions from around the world, today announced a strategic partnership agreement with Major League Baseball Advanced Media, LP (MLBAM), the interactive media and Internet company of Major League Baseball. In addition to managing WCSN's digital assets, MLBAM will have an equity position in WCSN. WCSN is dedicated to providing live or same-day-delayed in-depth coverage of over 40 global sports, online, on television and on multiple platforms, so that fans can enjoy them not just around the Olympic Games but annually, for their entire season.
The partnership solidifies and expands a recently established commercial relationship between the two companies. Over the past three months alone, WCSN has delivered over 160 hours of live event programming through their wcsn.com website. The programming has featured major world championship coverage including:
- Track and Field World Championships from Helsinki, Finland
- Artistic Gymnastics World Championships from Melbourne, Australia
- Rowing World Championships from Gifu, Japan
- Wrestling World Championships from Budapest, Hungary
- Fencing World Championships from Leipzig, Germany
- Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships from Baku, Azerbaijan
- Canoe/Kayak Slalom World Championships from Sydney, Australia
Other upcoming planned coverage includes World Championship and World Cup events in skiing, ski jumping, snowboarding, road and track cycling, mountain biking and many other sports.
"MLB Advanced Media has executed flawlessly over the last few months in delivering premier event coverage to our subscribers," said Claude Ruibal President and CEO of WCSN. "MLBAM's unique ability to deliver our content to multiple platforms, from online, cellular, VOD and handheld devices, combined with our planned cable and satellite and IPTV coverage, provides us a tremendous asset to bring our network to viewers anywhere they want to be, whenever they want to watch."
"We consider WCSN's exceptional relationships with the international sports federations, their extensive portfolio of exclusive sports rights and their commitment to provide superior coverage to the sports fan worldwide, an unmatched opportunity. Together, we expect to meet the extensive consumer demand for these sports across multiple viewing platforms," said Bob Bowman, President and CEO of MLB Advance Media.
MLBAM will manage the network's website, www.wcsn.com, including the online shop, auction and ticketing platforms, plus other interactive media assets, backend functionality, digital encoding and online customer service and support, and they will also market the WCSN content to their database of over seven million subscribers.