Sports marketing heavyweight Infront has become the international media rights sales partner for the lucrative World Athletics Ultimate Championship which will debut in two years’ time.
Infront will be in charge of securing a worldwide broadcast portfolio for the inaugural edition of that event, set to take place in Budapest, Hungary, across September 11 to 13, 2026.
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Sportcal (GlobalData Sport) understands there were six bidders for these rights, with Infront one of two to be shortlisted.
This tie-up comes as an addition to the existing multi-faceted relationship between Infront and World Athletics – the agency already handles international media rights sales for the top-tier Diamond League, and the Continental Tour Gold and Indoor Tour Gold.
In addition, the Host Broadcast Services (HBS) wholly-owned subsidiary of Infront has been appointed in that capacity for the Budapest event, with Tata Communications in as the host broadcaster itself.
That builds on the five-year deal unveiled in June between Tata and World Athletics, through which Tata Communications will provide events across the World Athletics calendar with bespoke coverage and broadcast content which it will deliver across continents.
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By GlobalDataJon Ridgeon, chief executive at World Athletics, has said: “The Ultimate Championship is also a chance for us to really innovate how we deliver our sport, presenting it in new formats and across different platforms which are specifically designed to keep the entire venue engaged, ensuring constant, fast-paced excitement.”
The World Athletics Ultimate Championship – unveiled in early June – will debut in 2026 as a climax to the track and field season, and then take place every two years.
It will pit world champions, Olympic champions, Diamond League winners, and the year’s best-performing athletes against each other, to crown an ultimate champion.
The $10 million prize money is the largest ever offered in the history of track and field athletics. All athletes competing at the championship will be financially rewarded and the winners will receive $150,000 each.
The three-day global championship event will feature eight to 16 of the world's top-ranked athletes per discipline competing in a new compact format for athletics, with each evening session including semi-finals and finals for track disciplines, and straight finals for field disciplines.
The Ultimate Championship will feature several track disciplines, including sprints, middle and long-distance races, relays, jumps, and throws, with athletes representing their national teams.
