IMG ARENA signs long term extension with Ekstraklasa

IMG ARENA, a leading sports betting service and content hub, has secured an extension to its global* live streaming partnership with Poland’s premier football league, the Ekstraklasa.

The multi-year renewal will see IMG ARENA package live footage from the competition for betting and gaming operators to offer to their customers.

Following a period of commercial growth, Ekstraklasa paid record revenues to its clubs in 2019-20, and the league is set to grow from 16 to 18 teams from 2021-22, providing a greater volume of matches and further increasing the live streaming coverage.

Freddie Longe, Executive Vice President and Managing Director of IMG ARENA, said: “The Ekstraklasa is an ambitious organisation with an entertaining product. We are delighted to be extending our partnership and to stream a growing number of matches.

“Football is the world’s most popular sport, and we are committed to ensuring we have a high quality, diverse portfolio of content to engage fans across the globe.”

Marcin Animucki, President and CEO of Ekstraklasa, said: “IMG ARENA has played a vital role in helping our organisation drive revenues for our members with packaged, engaging content that sustains and builds interest in Ekstraklasa around the world. We take great pleasure in announcing the renewal of the partnership and look forward to building on this mutually beneficial collaboration.”

The Ekstraklasa was formed in 1926, with 82 teams competing in the division since it was founded. Current champions Legia Warsaw won their 14^th title in 2019-20, making them the joint most-successful club alongside Wisla Krakow and Gornik Zabrze. A total of 16 different teams have lifted the trophy.

Headquartered in London, IMG ARENA works with more than 460 leading sportsbook operators worldwide, providing always-on services including 24/7 live streaming and on-demand virtual sports products designed to evolve and inspire engagement by placing fans at the heart of the action. In 2019, more than 175 million hours of IMG ARENA content was watched by 56 million unique viewers around the globe. IMG ARENA’s clients include the ATP, UFC, the PGA TOUR, European Tour, the FA Cup and Serie A.