Czech TV is a public free-to-air broadcaster for the Czech Republic and the agreements will ensure maximum coverage and audiences for these two sports, both very popular in the region with ice hockey the nation’s number one sport.
It will broadcast the majority of the games live and was the host broadcaster for the most recent IIHF World Championship, which took place in the Czech Republic earlier this year.
There were a record 552,000 spectators, the largest number ever and the event reached 750million television viewers worldwide during more than 1,700 hours transmission time (70 per cent of it live).
The broadcaster will also cover the 2005 IIHF World Championship in Austria and the 2006 event in Latvia.
In a separate agreement with Infront, Czech TV will also provide television coverage of the European Handball Championships until 2010, starting with the 2004 Women's European Handball Championship in Hungary from December 9 to 19.
The agreement also includes television broadcast rights for the 2006, 2008 and 2010 men's and women's European Handball Championships.
