Oct 22,2019
NOS to show international ISU events in a four-year deal
Zug, Switzerland – Infront, a Wanda Sports Group company, has sold the media rights to the main International Skating Union (ISU) competitions to public broadcaster NOS in the Netherlands until and including seasons 2022/23.
The agreement includes extensive live rights for all ISU Speed Skating Championships, ISU Short Track Speed Skating Championships and World Cups as well as highlight rights for all ISU Figure Skating events.
NOS will offer viewers in the Netherlands extensive coverage of the following ISU events:
• ISU Speed Skating Championships
• ISU World Cup Speed Skating series (excluding events being held in the Netherlands)
• ISU Four Continents Speed Skating Championships
• ISU Short Track Speed Skating Championships
• ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating series (excluding events being held in the Netherlands)
• ISU Figure Skating Championships
• ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series
• ISU World Synchronised Skating Championships
Bruno Marty, Infront's Senior Vice President Spectator Sports Media & Marketing: “This marks another milestone in our mission to maximise media exposure of ISU's properties. The Netherlands is a key market for the ISU and with NOS signed up as a long-standing partner, more fans than ever will be able to follow these thrilling Olympic sports on free-TV.”
Gerard Timmer, NOS's CEO: “Professional speed skating is part of the Dutch culture and therefore very important to the NOS. We are very pleased that, with this new agreement signed, we can continue to broadcast the national and international skating competitions for the years ahead.”
Jan Dijkema, ISU President: “Given the huge popularity of speed skating in the Netherlands and the ISU’s long-standing relationship with NOS, we are pleased to see Infront secure this important agreement. It guarantees that the ISU events remain available on free-to-air TV, leveraging the high-quality standard and production that NOS offers.”
About International Skating Union
The International Skating Union (ISU), founded in 1892, is the oldest governing international winter sport federation and the exclusive international sport federation recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) administering the sports of Figure Skating (Single & Pair Skating and Ice Dance), Synchronized Skating, Speed Skating and Short Track Speed Skating worldwide. The objectives of the ISU are to regulate, govern, promote and develop its sports on the basis of friendship and mutual understanding between athletes. Currently three ISU disciplines are included in the Olympic Winter Games program (Figure Skating, Speed Skating and Short Track Speed Skating). For further information please visit isu.org.
About NOS
The Dutch Broadcasting Foundation (Nederlandse Omroep Stichting – NOS) was founded in May 1969 through a merger of the Netherlands Radio Union (NRU, established in 1947) and the Netherlands Television Union (NTU, established in 1951). NOS is part of the Dutch public broadcasting system (NPO). Every day, the Sports department of the NOS offers a wide range of programs, covering all sports on all platforms. A great number of sports are covered live, both on television and radio and through our site, apps and social media. Speed skating draws vast audiences in The Netherlands, especially during international tournaments such as the ISU World Cups and Olympic Winter Games.
BEIJING, March 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Wanda Sports Group Company Limited (NASDAQ: WSG) (the “Company”) today announced that the Company signed a $240 million senior term loan facility agreement with Credit Suisse AG, Singapore Branch, enabling the Company to refinance and prepay its existing senior 364-day term loan facility, dated March 15, 2019.
Mr. Hengming Yang, President and CEO of Wanda Sports Group said, “We are very pleased with the new credit facility. The successful refinancing demonstrates continued confidence in our business and operations, despite the global challenges and uncertainties resulting from COVID-19. We will continue to work diligently on behalf of our partners, athletes, fans and shareholders.”
Mr. Brian Liao, Global CFO of Wanda Sports Group said, “As always, we are committed to lowering our costs, monitoring our use of cash, and balancing our investments with disciplined management of our existing financial resources to optimize shareholder returns. The new facility provides the Company with additional financial flexibility, while allowing it to take advantage of the current favorable interest rate environment to lower interest costs.”
The term of the new facility is 364 days. The pricing will initially be LIBOR plus an applicable margin, and the term is subject to certain mandatory prepayment terms. These and the other principal terms of the new facility are outlined further in a Form 6-K (Report of Foreign Private Issuer) submitted today to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as “will,” “estimate,” “project,” “predict,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “potential,” “plan,” “goal” and similar statements. The Company may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its periodic reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in its annual report to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Such statements involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release and are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements included in this press release. The Company disclaims any obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances that arise after the date made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, other than as required by law.
