MUMBAI: Infront Sports & Media and NOS, Hollands national broadcaster have signed an exclusive agreement for the Dutch broadcast rights to the 2006 Fifa World Cup.
An official release informs that NOS held the rights to the 2002 Fifa World Cup Korea/Japan. The new deal is an extension of an existing relationship. As a 'gatekeeper' deal, NOS will have exclusive rights to all 64 matches and will be able to sub-license specific rights to other broadcast platforms in Holland, based on Fifas distribution policy.
As part of this agreement, NOS also acquires exclusive rights to the Fifa World Youth Championship, which is being staged in the Netherlands in 2005 - also as a gatekeeper. This is the second biggest and most important international event Fifa's calendar after the World Cup itself, with 24 participating countries. Over the years over 350 young players have gone on participate the Fifa World Cup adds the release.
NOS will act as host broadcaster of the Under-20 event. It will work with Infronts subsidiary, Host Broadcast Services (HBS), to produce a quality signal for international distribution. It will also be the exclusive broadcaster of the matches in Holland.