Live footage of the World Tour has been distributed to 130 territories in 2009 with highlights reaching 200 territories (compared to a combined total of 120 territories worldwide in 2007).
For the World Championships, 25 international broadcasters showed the finals live - an increase of 525 per cent from the 2007 edition in Gstaad, Switzerland, where there were only four.
“The appeal of beach volleyball for television has been strong for a number of years, however these outstanding figures represent a new era for the sport in terms of exposure and accessibility for beach volleyball fans worldwide,” said FIVB President Jizhong Wei.
“These achievements are particularly relevant in the context of the current economic downturn which has seen the collapse and default of many broadcasters worldwide. Such achievements in the development of beach volleyball are the result of the FIVB’s new global approach including a new television strategy which has revolutionized the way beach volleyball is presented on television.”
With two World Tour events still to be held, beach volleyball's total worldwide revenues have also been reported to be 180-per-cent higher in 2009 than in 2007, the last year in which the Beach Volleyball World Championships and World Tour were both played.
