LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- The
World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) and MP & Silva announced
today an agreement that sees the leading international media rights company
acquire the exclusive global media and sponsorship rights for the first two
editions of "The Premier 12" -- the new flagship pro baseball
world championship that will feature the National Teams from the world's
twelve most powerful baseball nations and become baseball's highest-ranked
international competition.
Under
the new partnership, MP & Silva secures the exclusive worldwide rights
to distribute the 2015 and 2019 editions of The Premier 12 across all media
platforms, with the first-ever Premier 12 programmed for November 2015 and
set to award US$ multi-millions in prize money.
The
agreement expands beyond content acquisition and also sees MP & Silva
secure the exclusive global sponsorship rights for the first two Premier 12
international baseball showcases.
WBSC
President Riccardo Fraccari hailed the landmark deal with MP & Silva as
a strong indicator of the growing prominence of baseball's National Team
events on the world's sporting landscape.
"This
is a great day for The Premier 12 and the WBSC to partner with MP &
Silva on delivering this new flagship international tournament to the
millions of fans worldwide who want to follow and support their favourite
National Teams on a global stage," said Fraccari. "Partnering
with MP & Silva represents a major coup for The Premier 12 and
immediately raises the profile and marketability of The Premier 12 brand
ahead of its rolling out next year."
Said
Marco Auletta, MP & Silva's CEO: "We are extremely delighted to
add The Premier 12 to MP & Silva's portfolio and enter into this new
partnership with WBSC. Our distribution of the World Baseball Classic 2013
enjoyed unprecedented success for global distribution and viewership, and
we aim to surpass those targets with this exciting new property. WBSC
sanctioned international baseball competitions, such as the inaugural
Premier 12, are sports properties that continue to gain in prestige and
attractiveness to broadcasters, commercial partners and spectators. We
foresee an accelerating trend of positive audience growth and
commercialisation of international baseball content in traditional markets
across the Americas and Asia, as well as new and emerging markets, such as
Europe and the Middle East."
Baseball's
Top 12 nations that will compete in the inaugural Premier 12 will be led by
No. 1 Japan, No. 2 USA, No. 3 Cuba, No. 4 Chinese Taipei, No. 5
Netherlands, No. 6 Dominican Republic, No. 7 Canada, No. 8 South Korea, No.
9 Puerto Rico, No. 10 Venezuela, No. 11 Italy and No. 12. Mexico. | 
