The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) today announced that Taiwan's premier sports network Videoland has been awarded broadcast rights in Taiwan for the new WBSC Premier12™ world baseball flagship event that is set to debut in Japan and Taiwan from 8-21 November.
The agreement sees cable network Videoland become the host broadcaster and producer for all thirty-three Premier12 Opening Round and Quarter-finals matches taking place in Taiwan across four venues: Taichung Intercontinental Stadium, Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium, Tien-Mou Stadium and Dou-Liou Stadium.
Videoland will be overseeing the largest-ever broadcast production -- up to six Premier12 championship games per day with simulcast coverage -- of any major sporting event staged in Taiwan in history.
The November WBSC Premier12 is the top international baseball event of the year -- offering a $US multi-million purse and biggest payout of world ranking points -- and will unite the men's professional National Teams from the Top 12 countries in the WBSC Baseball World Rankings for the first time ever.
"WBSC is thrilled to partner with Videoland on this landmark agreement and exciting undertaking," said WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari. "With Taiwan's top sports network serving as the host broadcaster, viewers worldwide will be guaranteed the most comprehensive, innovative and highest quality coverage that showcases the world's top twelve nations battling on the WBSC Premier12 global baseball stage."
Said Videoland President Jay Cheng: "Videoland is honoured to have been entrusted with WBSC's new crown jewel product. The production of the WBSC Premier12 will represent the largest-scale operation in Videoland's history, and this agreement also ensures that Videoland's programming will exclusively feature the live, premium content that is in high demand by audiences across Taiwan. With Premier12, Videoland expects record ratings across our cable platform."
As previously announced, Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) and TV Asahi will be the host broadcasters in Japan for a special rivalry opener between world No. 1 Japan and No. 8 South Korea at the Sapporo Dome on 8 November as well as the semi-finals and finals taking place at the Tokyo Dome from 19-21 November. TBS and TV Asahi, two of the most wide-reaching broadcasting networks in Japan, have acquired the broadcast rights in Japan for free-to-air television nationwide delivery of the entire 2015 WBSC Premier12 global tournament.
Expanding on the agreement with Videoland, WBSC has awarded the broadcast rights in Taiwan to Videoland for the upcoming 2015 U-18 Baseball World Cup in Osaka, Japan and next year's U-15 Baseball World Cup in Japan and U-21 Baseball World Cup in Sinaloa, Mexico. Videoland also served the host broadcaster for the recently concluded U-12 Baseball World Cup 2015 in Tainan, Taiwan and will continue to serve as the host broadcaster for the 2017 and 2019 editions of the U-12 Baseball World Cup in Tainan.
Said President Cheng: "Adding the Baseball World Cup brand to Videoland's portfolio fully aligns with our long-term growth strategy through the delivery of live, premium content that engages our loyal audience -- to whom Videoland is uncompromisingly committed."
The WBSC leader hailed the agreement with Videoland as another key development of the sport's global evolution.
"These are unprecedented and exciting times for the appeal of our sport at the National Team level," said Fraccari. "The wide-ranging partnership with Videoland -- from U-12 to the professional/flagship product -- is the biggest ever for WBSC, and this is of particular significance as we try to earn our way back on the Olympic programme. Such breakthrough developments ensure that our sport will be continuing to enhance its momentum and global positioning to 2020 and beyond."
Baseball/softball is one of eight new sports being considered by Tokyo 2020 following Olympic Agenda 2020's landmark ruling last December that allows Olympic hosts to propose adding sports that are not currently on the Olympic programme but could help engage audiences and young people in the host nation and around the world.
For more information, contact:
media@wbsc.co
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