The deals cover the IAAF World Championships in Athletics, including Osaka 2007 and Berlin 2009.
US network NBC will provide Saturday and Sunday coverage, for an average of 6.5 hours of free-to-air terrestrial TV, at each of the World Championships. In addition, NBCSports.com will provide delayed on demand coverage at each of the World Championships. NBC is already the USA rights holders for the Olympic Games.
Cable channel VERSUS will screen a minimum of 50 hours of Athletics coverage from each the 2007 and 2009 World Championships (original and replay). The network's deal also includes live coverage of the 2008 World Indoor Championships.
WCSN (World Championship Sports Network) will deliver through their website WCSN.com every hour of the World Championships in Athletics in 2007 and 2009, as well as the 2008 World Indoor Championships, live and will make the content available to viewers on WCSN's website as a video on demand product shortly after the competition is completed each day, together with clips capturing the key moments from each day's competition.
IAAF President Lamine Diack, said, "this is a truly groundbreaking agreement for the premier event of our sport. I use the term 'groundbreaking' specifically because while our World Championships have been shown before in the USA across the three mediums of terrestrial, cable and internet, the synergy of the coverage provided by three such important players in the US TV market will give the 2007 and 2009 IAAF World Championships in Athletics a greater than ever impact in households across the USA."
