The International Triathlon Union (ITU) today announced three new broadcast deals that will see the global reach of its television series expand to 160 countries. New deals were announced for Europe, Asia and the Americas, making the series the most widely distributed in the sport's history.

Pan-Asian broadcaster ESPN STAR Sports (ESS) secured a broadcast deal with ITU that will see triathlon aired on its cable and satellite networks across Asia; the contract also includes internet and mobile rights.

"ESPN STAR Sports is delighted to add ITU content to our world-class programming line up. The sport already has a big following in the region and we expect this trend to continue due to the wide exposure on our networks," said Mr Nick Wilkinson, Vice-President Programming South-East Asia.

ITU also has secured a deal with WCSN to expand its penetration into the U.S. market. The deal compliments the existing agreement with cable broadcaster FSN and ensures that the entire series will be readily available to the U.S. market on a wide variety of media platforms.

"These latest deals further expand the reach of our product in several key markets. Triathlon is rapidly growing worldwide and it is our goal to make the sport's best events available to as large an international audience as possible," stated Brian Mahony, ITU Director of Media and Television.

Through its international distribution partner BBC Worldwide, ITU also secured a deal in Spain with Canal Plus. This agreement ensures that the sport's premiere series is available in the home country of the sport's leading male athlete, Javier Gomez, who continues to dominate leading up to the Beijing Olympic Games.

(Source: ITU)