Press Release International Baseball Federation, www.ibaf.org
MONACO, 24 May 2011 – MP & Silva, a leading international sports media company, has been appointed by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) as its exclusive international media advisor in a ground-breaking multi-year deal.
The five-year partnership will see IBAF and MP & Silva collaborate on the worldwide distribution of the federation’s entire international team portfolio, including the Men’s Baseball World Cup, Women’s Baseball World Cup, The 18U World Championship, 16U World Championship, and also the inaugural 12U World Championship tournament that will take place in Taiwan this July.
IBAF and MP & Silva will build on the agency’s expertise to harness the immense popularity of baseball globally. The parties will work together to expand IBAF’s sponsorship portfolio, and MP & Silva will provide strategic marketing consultancy and support services to further expose international baseball events in the USA and the key Asian markets of Japan, Korea and Taiwan, in part through the identification of new IBAF formats that the two parties will develop commercially together.
The highlight of the 2011 IBAF season is the World Cup in Panama. The event is slated to include 16 competing teams and will be held in October.
Andrea Radrizzani, Group CEO, MP & Silva, said: “We are extremely honoured to be given this opportunity by IBAF to help extend the reach and popularity of baseball around the globe. Currently, the prospects for growth are particularly promising in Central America and Asia. In this strategic partnership with IBAF, we aim to develop a wider international base for this exciting sport and to engage baseball fans in Asia and other key markets more directly.”
Riccardo Fraccari, President, International Baseball Federation, said: “We are pleased to announce our cooperation with MP & Silva and look forward to expanding the distribution and exposure of our sport of baseball together. We have millions of fans far and wide, and with MP & Silva as our media advisor, we hope to share and foster this global passion for baseball with even more fans around the world.”
About MP & Silva:
MP & Silva is a leading international sports media company that owns, manages and distributes television, media and marketing rights to some of the most prestigious sports events around the world. With an annual turnover in excess of USD$ 200 million, the MP & Silva group has an established track record in managing commercial and TV rights for a number of professional sporting organisations, federations, leagues, clubs and rights holders, and represents some of the most important and world-class sports events. Some of the company’s television rights portfolio includes Italian Serie A, English Premier League, Spanish La Liga, FIA GT1 World Championship, DTM, Baseball World Cup, French Ligue 1, Major League Soccer (MLS), Brazilian national football league (Brasileirão), Arsenal Football Club, AC Milan, National Basketball Association (NBA), Spanish basketball league (Liga ACB), several Asian football federations and ATP World Tour tennis tournaments – amounting to more than 6,000 hours of programming annuall.
As a full service sports rights agency, MP & Silva provides a wide range of services to support its clientele of sports federations, rights holders, event organisers, teams, players, and commercial partners, who rely on the agency’s innovative commercial approach, extensive local knowledge and global networks to create real and tangible results through the world’s universal passion for sports. Headquartered in Singapore and London, MP & Silva operates worldwide through regional offices in Budapest, Dubai, Dublin, Beijing, Hanoi, Milan, Monaco, Miami, New York, Munich and Tokyo.