Beach Volleyball Has Record TV Season

Claiming the sport is entering a ‘new era’, the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) revealed record-breaking television numbers for beach volleyball this year, which included the World Tour and World Championships.

Compared to reaching a combined total of 120 territories worldwide in 2007, live footage of the World Tour in 2009 has been distributed to 130 territories with highlights reaching 200 territories.

For the World Championships, 25 international broadcasters showed the finals live – an increase of 525 per cent from 2007 in Gstaad, where there were only four.

‘The appeal of beach volleyball for television has been strong for a number of years, however these outstanding figures represent a new era for the sport in terms of exposure and accessibility for beach volleyball fans worldwide,” the sport’s governing body’s President Jizhong Wei said.

With two World Tour events still to be held, beach volleyball’s total worldwide revenues have also been reported to be 180 %  higher in 2009 than in 2007, the last year in which the Beach Volleyball World Championships and World Tour were both played.