Vancouver, Canada (March 19, 2008) - The International Triathlon Union (ITU) today announced several new broadcasters of its world cup events in 2008. New broadcast deals for the transmission of BG Triathlon World Cups have been announced in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Middle East, Asia, Philippines, Africa and South Korea. The new announcements build on the success of 2007, where ITU saw the widest ever distribution of its events.

Terrestrial broadcaster Seven and TVNZ will broadcast their nation's world cup events in Australia and New Zealand respectively. The entire BG Triathlon World Cup series will also be aired on Fox Sports in Australia and Sky Sports in New Zealand.

"Having large terrestrial broadcasters involved in our events is important to ensure the sport is brought to the widest possible audience," stated Brian Mahony, ITU Director of Media and Television.

Several new deals have also been agreed in Asia and the Middle East with Ten Sport and Zee Sports committing to air the world cup series in 2008, expanding the coverage of the sport into a region where triathlon is fast gaining popularity. ITU, though its international distribution partner BBC Worldwide, also secured a deal in the Philippines with broadcaster ABC-CBN. South Korean national broadcaster MBC will air the Tongyeong BG Triathlon Word Cup live.

In Africa a new deal has been agreed through BBC Worldwide with GTV for broadcast rights in sub-Saharan Africa. Meanwhile SABC will broadcast the Richards Bay BG Triathlon World Cup in South Africa. Setanta Sports have signed a deal to secure the broadcast rights for the world cup series in Ireland.

"We are delighted to build on last year's success with these new deals," said Mahony. "The sport continues to grow at a rapid pace and with the Olympics this year, we are seeing more and more interest in our content. We are still in negotiations with several broadcasters and expect to announce a few more major deals in the coming weeks".

More details on the 2008 ITU television series can be found on www.triathlon.org