This year’s World Team Championships looks set to become the most viewed International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) event in history after the sport’s governing body agreed media coverage deals in an unprecedented number of countries.
The showpiece team tournament, set to take place in Tokyo between April 28 and May 5, will be broadcast live on television in more than 100 countries across the globe thanks to agreements set up by ITTF media rights holder Total Sports Asia with the likes of Eurosports, FOX Sports Australia, One World Sports and BeIN Sports.
The ITTF is expecting to reach a further four million people through its online streaming platform ITTF.com/itTV, while getting a further three million views on its YouTube channel.
It will also provide up-to-the-minute updates through social networks, including Twitter – where it will use the #TTokyo2014 hashtag – and Facebook, as well as a daily newsletter, which can be subscribed to here.
The ITTF said this accessibility, along with the coverage provided by the 900 accredited media expected on site, will ensure that this year’s competition is “the most extensively viewed ITTF World Championships in history”.
“Several of the world’s largest networks are combining to ensure this global coverage in over 100 countries,” Anders Thunström, who oversees the ITTF’s television activities, said.
“With the television coverage and all the coverage online by both itTV and the ITTF YouTube channel, all the table tennis fans across the world will have access to ITTF’s premier event.”
This article first appeared in www.insidethegames.biz and is reproduced with permission.
