Germany’s ARD gains broadcasting rights to FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers

German public broadcaster ARD has struck a deal with the International Hockey Federation (FIH), gaining the broadcasting rights for the upcoming FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers.

Source: FIH

ARD will live broadcast one semi-final and the third-place game or final of the men’s and women’s Olympic qualifiers on its sports platform Sportschau.

The FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers is made up of 12 teams which will qualify for the upcoming Olympic games in Paris this year. In total, up to four games of the German national hockey teams will be shown on by the broadcaster.

The German women’s national team are ranked fifth in the FIH World Rankings, they are playing in India. Whilst the German men’s team are reigning world champions and are competing in Oman.

“ARD’s broadcast of the deciding matches with the German teams in the men’s and women’s Olympic qualifier underlines our common goal of making German hockey accessible to a wide audience. Hockey fans will have the opportunity to watch our national teams compete for a place at the Olympic Games. This is a strong signal for the German Hockey Federation to further popularize our sport. The broadcast is also the result of the trusting cooperation between ARD and the DHB that has been built up over the last months,” said Martin Schultze, DHB director of sport.

Commenting on the agreement, FIH president Tayyab Ikram added: “On behalf of FIH, I’d like to extend our sincerest thanks to ARD for partnering with us to broadcast some matches of the upcoming FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers in the country of the reigning FIH Men’s World Champions! This will for sure give a great boost to the visibility of hockey in a country that is known for its passion and talent for sport.”

The FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers is currently underway, after kicking off on January 13. FIH has also secured coverage of its events on India’s Viacom18 and the UK’s BBC.