MediaZones has secured a contract for the International Judo Federation with the British channel BT Sport, to add to the channel’s exclusive mix of Champions League football, Europa League football, and live international cricket.

The broadcasts on BT Sport included eight half-hour slots within peak-time viewing in September and October 2015, revolving around Judo’s World Championships.

MediaZones (together with MediaZones Sport) has been providing guidance to expand judo’s international televisual footprint in several ways.  The Highlights programme has been made much more features-based, and new markets are being sought for judo, especially in Africa.

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MediaZones signed an agreement to represent the INTERNATIONAL JUDO FEDERATION (IJF) on 10 July 2015.  The Agreement stated that MediaZones will exercise the role of  “the expansion and strengthening of the media coverage of judo and its financial underpinning”.   A new agreement was signed in January 2016 for MediaZones to become the IJF’s Media Copnsultant on Innovation, Media and Television.

Judo, a long-time Olympic sport, is described by the BBC website as “the most popular martial art in the world, with 13 million participants in 111 countries“.

“The IJF has placed its faith in us to develop broadcast deals, including sponsorship and advertising, and to produce and package content that will suit broadcasters’ needs,” said Paul Martin Cainer, the CEO of MediaZones and SportZones.  “This will not just provide the broadcasters with access to the actual sports events but also will provide insight for their viewers into the characters involved in judo, their personal backgrounds and motivations, the story of the teams competing in the  upcoming 2016 Olympics, the skills being exhibited, as well as into the proud history and pure values of this sport.”