LOS ANGELES, California, January 16. WORLD Championship Sports Network (WCSN), the premier destination for fans of Olympic and lifestyle sports, and Swimming World Magazine, the leading swimming publication, announced today a strategic partnership and cross promotion of key swimming events throughout the 2008 season.
Swimming World Magazine's reach into 179 countries, along with WCSN's online distribution network, WCSN TV and its syndicated television series will create a single, all-inclusive destination for swimming fans around the world.
Both parties will collaborate to deliver dedicated coverage of all major swimming events including on-site news coverage, interviews with athletes and exclusive webcasts of events such as the FINA Short Course World Championships from Manchester, UK on April 9 – 13. Fans can find in-depth articles, results and analysis from Swimming World Magazine on WCSN's swimming channel www.wcsn.com/swimming as well as customized exclusive placements and unique WCSN content within Swimming World Magazine (www.SwimmingWorldMagazine.com). WCSN will also have a weekly column from former Olympic medalist, Mel Stewart, called "Gold Medal Mel." Stewart will be attending and covering the California Grand Prix from Long Beach, Calif., this weekend.
"We are excited to partner with Swimming World Magazine and further our commitment in providing quality programming and content for the swimming community," said WCSN CEO Claude Ruibal. "WCSN continues to be the only place fans can find exclusive coverage of all FINA events and follow their favorite athletes year round."
"We have been impressed with the goals, vision and personnel at WCSN from the onset. It made sense to share our editorial and video assets in ways that allow our readers and viewers to get as much rich content as possible, especially during an Olympic year," said Brent Rutemiller, CEO of Sports Publications International – Publishers of Swimming World Magazine.
This partnership is a significant step in strengthening the awareness of swimming in the United States and adds value to the swimming community. By giving fans unprecedented access and an immersive experience, WCSN and Swimming World Magazine continue to foster and promote both popular and underserved aquatic disciplines.
In addition to this year's FINA Short Course World Championships, highlights on WCSN include:
• Randall Bal (USA) and Therese Alshammar (SWE) winning the 2007 FINA World Cup and $100,000 each
• Randall Bal (USA) having 21 wins in 21 backstroke races in the seven-meet FINA World Cup series
• Natalie Coughlin (USA) breaking her own 100-meter backstroke world record in Singapore
• Michael Phelps (USA) winning 7 gold medals and breaking 4 world records at the 2007 FINA World Championships
• Katie Hoff (USA) setting a world record in 400 IM at the 2007 FINA World Championships
And future exclusive events:
• 13th FINA World Championships 2009 (in Rome, Italy)
• 10th FINA Short Course World Swimming Championships 2010 (in Dubai, United Arab Emirates)
• FINA Synchronized Swimming World Cup 2010
• FINA Men's and Women's Water Polo World Cups 2010
On WCSN.com, fans can follow their favorite athletes through additional hours of exclusive coverage available on the broadband site via a $4.95 monthly subscription fee. WCSN.com will also have complete live and on-demand video footage plus free access to medal counts, news, results, photo galleries, behind-the-scenes features and more. Broadcast schedules of all live and on-demand events can be found at WCSN.com. Fans can also contact their local cable operator to get more details on the WCSN television channel. Check local listings for airing times on Fox Sports Net.
About World Championship Sports Network (WCSN)
World Championship Sports Network (WCSN) is the premier destination for fans of Olympic and lifestyle sports, delivering an immersive experience via exclusive live and on-demand coverage of world class competitions, interaction with top athletes and in-depth access to sports news and information year round.
WCSN offers comprehensive coverage of over 60 sports disciplines, through exclusive long-term programming agreements across a number of key International Federations and National Governing Bodies. Major championship events in sports ranging from Track and Field, Skiing, Swimming, Gymnastics and Cycling to Volleyball, Karate and Taekwondo are featured online at www.WCSN.com and on television via WCSN's 24/7 cable sports network. WCSN also markets Olympic sports in partnership with International Federations, National Governing Bodies, local organizations, clubs, sponsors, and through related websites and publications.
WCSN has a strategic partnership agreement with Major League Baseball Advanced Media, LP (MLBAM), the interactive media and Internet Company of Major League Baseball, for its website WCSN.com. WCSN's lead investor is InterMedia Partners, a private equity firm that invests in media content providers. InterMedia Partners serves the content needs of diverse communities of interest across all platforms, including broadcast, publishing, broadband and direct marketing. For more information, please visit www.WCSN.com.
About Sports Publications International (Swimming World Magazine)
Sports Publications International (SPI) is a magazine based, multi-media corporation that has been known as the most recognizable voice of swimming for almost a half a century. Swimming World Magazine, the flagship for a family of products developed by SPI was first published as a monthly magazine in January of 1960 and has been in continuous publication ever since. Junior Swimmer, Swimming Technique and SWIM Magazine are stand alone customer targeted titles owned by SPI and are only available as digital magazines.
The company launched SwimInfo.com in 1996, and recently rebranded the site as SwimmingWorldMagazine.com. In 2006, SPI debuted SwimmingWorld.TV and Swimming World Radio online. An Internet-based 10-minute news show called The Morning Swim Show is schedule to launch in January of 2008.
Publishing is the core business of Sports Publications International and the staff prides itself in being the world's leading independent resource for swimming news. This is illustrated through their commitment to bring the swimming community the latest in breaking news coverage from around the world.