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Rights Availability : All TV, broadband & mobile, available across
Asia, Middle East, Australia, New Zealand
Programme
: World Feed LIVE from quarter-finals onwards
Delivery Method
: Via satellite or tape delayed
The prestigious Thomas Cup is the major men's international team competition in world
badminton which takes place every two years. The rivalries in Thomas Cup competitions
are traditionally intense encounters that pit national pride against each another. The
intensity and the passion of these clashes often spill over into the crowd and the
emotions charged up by spectators, never failing to lend that added buzz to an already
electric on-court atmosphere.
The Uber Cup is the counterpart women's team competition. It takes place simultaneously
with the Thomas Cup, thus making both events a enthralling double-header. Curiously, only
the USA, Japan, China and Indonesia have ever managed to win the Uber Cup. Surely, it is
time for a new badminton powerhouse to emerge.
The pinnacle of badminton's individual events culminate in the World Championship
which take place every year (except years in which the Olympic Games occur) allowing
winners the ultimate honour of "World Champion".
The Sudirman Cup is a mixed team competition that is also hotly contested in the
name of national pride. This unique tournament is the only one to combine the
strengths of a country's best men and women players in one competition.
The dynamic sport of badminton is played by an estimated 225 million people
worldwide and unfailingly packs arenas and increases TV ratings wherever it is
shown, especially in Asia. For example at the Athens 2004 Olympics, badminton rose
an incredible 14 places amongst the most popular televised sports from the Sydney
2000 Games, to now make it one of the most watched sports at the Olympics. To
further illustrate this phenomenon, the Thomas and Uber Cups in 2002 were watched
by well over 1 billion people!
Behind this resurgence in the sports' popularity, is the IBF, who are probably one of the most
progressive and forward thinking federations in world sport. They readily acknowledge the importance
of television as the main driving force in increasing participation levels, and are now in the process of
revolutionizing the sport to better suit the ever growing TV audience.
Innovations to make the sport more "TV friendly" include a new scoring system to shorten matches,
changing the position of the service line, electronic line-calling, contemporary on-screen graphics
and stats, providing on-court entertainment between matches and actively promoting the players'
image and attire.
For more information, visit
http://internationalbadminton.org/
