The International Swimming League (ISL) has signed a multi-year broadcast rights deal with US commercial network CBS Sport ahead of the franchise swimming series’ second season.
Under the terms of the agreement, CBS will broadcast the entire 2020 ISL campaign, which will hold 13 events behind closed doors from the Duna Arena in Budapest over a five-week period, beginning on 16th October.
Coverage from Hungary’s capital city will be available via the CBS Television and CBS Sports networks, as well as the CBS Sports Digital platform.
"We are thrilled with this partnership and the commitment made by CBS to air all ISL events live to its North American audience," said ISL founder and chairman Konstantin Grigorishin. “From the beginning, the team at CBS really impressed us with their understanding of our vision.
“This partnership will provide a wonderful platform to showcase the world's best swimmers, female and male, challenging each other in the most entertaining competitive format ever created in the sport.”
Having secured several major broadcast deals for the ISL’s inaugural 2019 season, including with the UK’s public-service provider the BBC and Australia’s Seven Network, the Paris-based media rights agency In & Out Stories will continue to distribute the swimming league’s international rights ahead of the 2020 campaign
The new arrangement with CBS follows a deal signed last season with Disney-owned ESPN, which also provided coverage from the ISL’s 2019 campaign via the official ESPN app. Canadian broadcaster CBC also held rights last year.
With the coronavirus pandemic having decimated the international swimming calendar, the 2020 ISL season is the sport’s only major competition to be held ahead of next summer’s rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics.
The ISL has also announced two new teams for the upcoming campaign, the Toronto Titans and the Tokyo Frog Kings. Their addition takes the number of participating teams up to ten.
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