Sports Marketing Japan (SMJ), exclusive rights holders for the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) Qualifying Tournaments for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, appointed MP & Silva as the event’s exclusive sales agent for all territories, except Japan and Taiwan.
MP & Silva will handle the sale of the live and delayed broadcast rights, which include terrestrial free-to-air television, satellite and cable television, Internet protocol television (IPTV), broadband television, Internet broadcasting, Video-On-Demand (VOD), and mobile phone.
The tournament, which will be held in Taichung, Taiwan from 7 – 14 March 2008, will determine the final three Olympic qualifying places for baseball, and will feature eight countries - Korea, Taiwan, Canada, Mexico, Australia, United Kingdom, South Africa, and Spain - in a single round-robin play-off.
The deal marks the second time SMJ has partnered up with MP & Silva to distribute IBAF media rights internationally after the Singapore-based agency was appointed exclusive sales agent for the IBAF Asian Championship 2007, and helped secure key deals in Korea with MBC ESPN and Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation for the Asian Championship.
“We are pleased and excited to working with SMJ once again to distribute IBAF media rights,” said Andrea Radrizzani, Chief Executive Officer, MP & Silva. “The final tournament is of great significance to the eight participating countries as remaining places for the 2008 Beijing Olympics are up for grabs, and we will be working closely with SMJ to ensure strong coverage of the event in these countries.”
