Press Release International Baseball Federation, www.ibaf.org
MLB Network in the United States to televise Team USA VS. Germany on 9/11, WIPR TV in Puerto Rico to cover Team Puerto Rico, RAI Sport TV to broadcast all Team Italy games, in addition to Eurosport 2’s Pan-European coverage
(LAUSANNE, Switzerland) – The International Baseball Federation (IBAF) today announced additional television partners for the Baseball World Cup, which begins this today in sites across Europe. The new partners, in addition to the already-announced pan-European coverage of Eurosport2, will include: ICRT in Cuba, WIPR TV in Puerto Rico, Viasat in Sweden, Czech TV, RAI Sport in Italy, NOS in the Netherlands as well as the MLB Network in the United States for select games. These additions will give the 2009 World Cup the largest broadcast footprint in the history of the event. Live streaming for games and live scoring are also available for fans on the World Cup website, http://hosting3.sportingpulse.com/www.2009baseballworldcup.com/index.php?id=49
“We are very pleased to be able to have both a local and international broadcast presence for the World Cup, which will now be seen by millions of fans around the world starting this week,” said IBAF President Dr. Harvey Schiller. “The added TV presence, strong ticket sales and a record number of professional players participating all continue to show baseball’s growth, and we are very excited in both the interest in the World Cup and the commitment to grow the sport around the world, especially across Europe and in emerging nations. It is a very exciting time for baseball and the fans of the sport.”
The 2009 Baseball World Cup begins today with the Czech Republic meeting Australia in Prague, Spain and South Africa meeting in Barcelona, Sweden and the Netherlands Antilles meeting in Stockholm and Germany playing China in Regensburg. First round games will continue from 10-12 with all 22 nations participating. The second round will be split between Italy and the Netherlands, while the final round will be in Italy finishing on 27 September. Over 100 players under professional contracts are participating in the 2009 World Cup.