CCTV
IMG JOINT VENTURE PARTNERS WITH
THE NFL FOR REALITY AND HIGHLIGHTS PROGRAMS
NFL Super Bowl To Be Broadcast Live on Chinese National
Television
New
York, New York, September 24, 2009 -- CCTV IMG Sports
Management Company, the 20-year joint venture between
China’s CCTV, the world's largest television
broadcaster, and IMG Worldwide, the premier sports,
entertainment and media company, announced today an
agreement with the National Football League (NFL)
to develop, produce, distribute and exhibit an NFL
reality-based television series and an NFL highlights
show in China.
The
agreement includes a live broadcast of Super Bowl
XLIV from Dolphin Stadium in South Florida on Sunday,
February 7, 2010 (Monday, February 8 in China). Financial
terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The
original television series, entitled NFL China Blitz,
will be comprised of 16 30-minute episodes developed
in conjunction with the NFL and produced in the Chinese
language by CCTV. Broadcasts of the series will run
from October 29, 2009 through February 11, 2010. The
highlights programs will include 22 weekly 30-minute
shows with Chinese in-studio commentators to coincide
with each week of the 2009 NFL regular-season and
postseason.
"We
are delighted to have played a role in helping the
NFL, one of the world's most prestigious sports leagues,
gain exposure to over 800 million people in China,"
said Ted Forstmann, chairman and chief executive of
IMG. "This agreement represents the first true
example of the kind of original programming that we
expect the joint venture to produce over the next
20 years." “We are committed to growing
our sport around the world, including in China,”
said Steve Bornstein, NFL executive vice president,
media. “This initiative is an exciting way for
us to bring all of the passion and pageantry of the
NFL, both on and off the field, to the Chinese audience
in a new and innovative format.”
The
reality series component of the agreement will feature
the most popular and successful youth band in Chinese
pop culture, "May Day." The band sings songs
mostly in Mandarin and is admired for expressing its
hope for world peace through music. In the series,
two teams which will include members of May Day, will
undertake a series of competitive tasks revolving
around the core values of the NFL. Points will be
awarded to the winning team for each task and the
team with the highest point total at the end of the
series will win a unique prize. Each of the 16 original
programs will be filmed in various US cities. The
highlights programs will be localized by the NFL and
will include an NFL-provided script with CCTV talent
hosting the weekly show. In addition to the reality
series and the NFL highlights show, the agreement
calls for the live broadcast of Super Bowl XLIV, on
February 8, 2010 at approximately 7:30 a.m. Beijing
time on CCTV, with Mandarin commentary. The
agreement also includes a regular schedule of advertisements
and promotions of the series and the highlights programs
throughout China. In addition, both the CCTV IMG joint
venture and the NFL have the right to sell sponsorship
packages and syndication for the programs.
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