PTO extends IMG agreement
March 7, 2024
The Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) has extended its agreement with IMG, the sports, events and representation company, to exclusively negotiate and distribute the media rights for its T100 Triathlon World Tour until 2026.
The deal will see IMG manage the broadcast deals for the eight T100 races in markets across Asia, Australasia, Africa, North America (excluding the US) and LatAm, as well as free-to-air rights across Europe.
The newly rebranded and expanded T100 Triathlon World Tour will see 40 of the world’s highest ranked athletes – 20 women and 20 men – compete in eight 100km (2km swim, 80km bike, 18km run) international races across three continents each year. Starting with the Miami T100 at CLASH Endurance Miami this Saturday, 9 March, the tour will then visit Singapore (April 13th-14th), San Francisco (June 8th-9th), London (July 27th-28th), Ibiza (September 28th-29th), Lake Las Vegas (October 19th-20th) and Dubai (November 16th-17th), before culminating in the Grand Final (November 29th-30th).
It was recently announced that the T100 Triathlon World Tour will take place in San Francisco at the iconic Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon in a partnership with IMG. Since the first race in 1981, the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon has hosted top professional and amateur triathletes, drawing more than 2,000 intrepid triathletes to San Francisco year after year.
Last season, the PTO delivered on its goal to bring longer distance triathlon to a broader audience with a global live TV and streaming audience of 24.6 million for its three races in Ibiza, Milwaukee and Singapore, through multiple top-tier broadcast partnerships that saw it broadcast in 195+ territories around the world.
“Our extension with IMG represents a significant validation for the PTO on its journey to take triathlon into the mainstream,” said PTO CEO Sam Renouf. “Not only is it a fantastic endorsement of our partnership over the last few years, but also of the PTO’s strategy for the T100 Triathlon World Tour – a new ‘made-for-TV’ 100km triathlon tour in iconic locations around the globe. The positive reaction from broadcasters and fans to the PTO’s progress has encouraged us to expand the series to 8 races, in order to create season-long narratives, culminating in the crowning of an official men’s and women’s World Champion. IMG has represented the PTO’s media rights since 2001, contributing to the growth and development of the endurance sports landscape and specifically working to establish the property as the F1 for endurance sport.”
Rebecca Levin, Vice President, North America for IMG’s media business, added: “The T100 Triathlon World Tour represents the pinnacle of endurance sport with a new, season-long schedule of high-quality races featuring the world’s best endurance athletes. We’re excited to extend our partnership and continue working together to elevate professional triathlon on a global sporting stage, connect with new audiences worldwide and drive further commercial growth.”