The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) is pleased to announce it has extended its long-term agreement with global sports marketing agency, IMG, to distribute the international media rights for its major UCI World Championships through to 2031.
The agreement covers all international territories outside Europe, MENA and China. This extension with IMG complements the renewed agreement with the European Broadcasting Union for distribution in Europe.
IMG will continue partnering with the UCI to represent the media rights for its annual UCI World Championships for road, track, mountain bike, cyclo-cross, gravel and urban cycling (BMX Freestyle and trials), as well as the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup over the period. The partnership includes the next two editions of the multi-discipline UCI Cycling World Championships taking place in Haute-Savoie Mont Blanc (France) in 2027 and in Trentino (Italy) in 2031.
IMG will also manage and license the UCI’s archives in their territories, featuring thousands of hours of historic footage from its events.
IMG has represented the International Federation’s media rights in their territories since 2017, significantly growing the distribution of its events. Recently, for example, this has included building new interest in cyclo-cross in Japan and restructuring the distribution strategy in Latin America by securing a major pay-TV agreement with DIRECTV that provides a complement to any agreements with free-to-air broadcasters, thus ensuring even wider visibility across the region.
List of UCI events covered by the agreement:
UCI Cycling World Championships (2027 and 2031)
UCI Road World Championships (2025, 2026, 2028, 2029 and 2030)
UCI Track World Championships (2025, 2026, 2028, 2029 and 2030)
UCI Urban Cycling World Championships* (2025, 2026, 2028, 2029 and 2030)
UCI Mountain Bike World Championships (2025, 2026, 2028, 2029 and 2030)
UCI Gravel World Championships (2025, 2026, 2028, 2029 and 2030)
UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships (2025, 2026, 2027, 2028, 2029, 2030 and 2031)
UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup (2024-2025 to 2030-2031).
* This event includes BMX Freestyle (Park and Flatland) and trials.
UCI President David Lappartient said: “I am delighted that IMG will continue to distribute media rights outside Europe for our major events. Since 2017, the agency has been ensuring that fans can enjoy cycling action across our many and varied disciplines. With the extension of our agreement until 2031, we can ensure that the broadest possible audience has access to our events and also attract new fans to the sport.”
Ed Mallaburn, Senior Vice President, Sports Management, IMG, added: “We are proud to extend our longstanding partnership with the UCI and help bring the excitement and passion of cycling to audiences around the world. Cycling is a truly global sport with a deeply engaged fanbase, and we look forward to building on our shared success by continuing to expand the reach and value of UCI’s World Championship events across both traditional and digital platforms.”
IMG represents and advises on the international media rights strategy for some of the world’s biggest sport properties including Euroleague Basketball, The Wimbledon Championships, The R&A, South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL), British Cycling, the Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF), Rugby League Commercial, and the Eredivisie, among others.
About the UCI
Founded on April 14, 1900, in Paris, France, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) is the worldwide governing body for cycling. It develops and oversees cycling in all its forms and for all people: as a competitive sport, a healthy recreational activity, a means of transport, and also just for fun. The UCI manages and promotes the eleven cycling disciplines of road, track, mountain bike, BMX Racing, BMX Freestyle, cyclo-cross, trials, indoor cycling, cycling esports, gravel and snow bike. Five of these are featured on the Olympic Games programme (road, track, mountain bike, BMX Racing and BMX Freestyle), and two in the Paralympic Games (road and track). Cycling also features on the programme of the Youth Olympic Games. For more information: www.uci.org.
About IMG
IMG is a leading global sports marketing agency, specializing in media rights management and sales, multi-channel content production and distribution, brand partnerships, strategic consulting, digital services, and events management. It powers growth of revenues, fanbases and IP for more than 200 federations, associations, events, and teams, including the National Football League, English Premier League, International Olympic Committee, National Hockey League, Major League Soccer, ATP and WTA Tours, the AELTC (Wimbledon), Euroleague Basketball, CONMEBOL, DP World Tour, and The R&A, as well as UFC, WWE, and PBR. IMG is a subsidiary of TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: TKO), a premium sports and entertainment company.