The International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) and Infront have agreed terms for an exclusive agency agreement for the distribution of the international media rights of the FIS World Cup events for all platforms starting with the 2026/27 season and covering eight seasons up to and including 2033/34.
The most relevant agreed terms they can be summarized as follows: minimum compensation exceeding 100 million euro beyond the current conditions; agency contract on commission with a minimum sales guarantee exceeding 600 million euro; FIS has full control of the sales process; Infront will provide exclusive international media operations and marketing implementation services.
Instead, as regards i immediate rights and access to digital content, it is expected: free supply of archive footage and highlights; extended photography rights, behind-the-scenes coverage, course coverage, and production of documentaries, television series, motion pictures, or similar productions; free OTT streaming for dark markets.
Infront has a strong understanding of FIS World Cup media rights through her role as media rights partner of most national ski and snowboard associations (NSA) for over 20 years. During this time, the international sports marketing company has massively increased the visibility of the FIS World Cup across platforms and marketplaces. Up to and including the 2025/26 season, Infront will continue to implement its current approach to collective distribution of media rights based on agreements with the NSA.
FIS President Johan Eliasch he claims: “I was elected president of the FIS with a mandate for change. Everywhere I see areas to improve our sport I will, even if it’s not easy. Based on the 2021 statute changes approved by a majority of 97.3% of our members, we have continued with the belief that centralizing our management of media rights will be good for our athletes, our member federations and for all.the children snow sports enthusiasts. This is a time of enormous opportunity. There are new technologies to exploit, new audiences to inspire, and new markets to explore. Since so much of what we want and need to do depends on it, centralizing our sport’s media rights management has been central to our strategy”.
Bruno Marty, Senior Vice President ProSports di Infronthe claims: “We have an established partnership with the FIS and its affiliated associations for over two decades and have always believed in the strong potential of the FIS World Cup. This new approach to our collaboration with the world of skiing and snowboarding will enable Infront to fully support the FIS initiative and the entire snow sports family to continue to further grow the value of the FIS World Cup media rights revenue based on our experience and in-depth knowledge of the sports media industry. We are confident that all stakeholders involved will benefit from the proposed future set-up and work together to increase the attractiveness, exposure and impact of the FIS World Cup globally.”