NEW YORK, NY -- (Marketwire) -- 07/13/09 -- IMG Worldwide, the premier sports, entertainment and media company, announced today that it has reached a three-year agreement with the National Football League (NFL) to be the exclusive agent to license select NFL television rights in certain international markets.

Effective immediately and through the 2011 season, which includes playoffs extending to 2012, IMG will sell the local language television rights for NFL preseason, regular season, and playoff games (including the Super Bowl and the Pro Bowl), as well as NFL Films content, in certain countries within Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean. IMG will also license the international distribution of NFL Network and NFL Sunday Ticket in each of these regions, except for Europe.

The NFL will continue to manage all other rights within these countries and territories and the remainder of the media business around the world.

"The selection of IMG by the NFL, one of the most prestigious sports leagues in the world, is a reflection of the long standing, excellent relationship we have had with the league, and a recognition of their confidence in our ability to maximize the value of these much sought after assets," said Ted Forstmann, IMG Chairman and Chief Executive.

"We are pleased to partner with IMG to continue to grow our international distribution of NFL programming," said Steve Bornstein, NFL Executive Vice President, Media. "We are excited to deliver more games and content to NFL fans around the world."

The agreement was negotiated for IMG by Executive Vice President for Media Sports Programming, Barry Frank. A leader in the field, he has negotiated some of the most lucrative sports television programming contracts ever signed.

"We are thrilled to have the NFL return to us as a client," said Frank. "Certainly for us it is a jewel in the crown of properties we are honored to represent. We expect to be able to prove to the league that IMG offers the most effective and efficient method of worldwide distribution."

In 2008, 134 broadcasters in 231 countries and territories offered NFL games and programs to fans worldwide including a live Super Bowl broadcast in 34 different languages around the globe.

Operating in 30 countries and with 200 sales executives across the world, IMG's Sports Media group represents global rights negotiations for all forms of media including television, radio, in-flight, DVD, mobile and broadband and creates commercial rights strategies that help clients in nearly every sports genre increase the value of rights revenue for any media platform.

Over its long history, IMG Sports Media has advised many of the world's leading sports governing bodies, sporting events and cultural organizations, including: International Olympic Committee (seven Olympic Games, beginning with Calgary in 1988), All England Lawn Tennis Club (Wimbledon), the United States Tennis Association, the NBA, the NFL (foreign rights), the Australian Open, the European Tour, the FA Premier League, the Indian Premier League, International Rugby Board, the International Skating Union, the Triple Crown, the Indianapolis 500, Le Mans 24 Hours and the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews (the Open Championship) among many others.

About IMG Sports Media

IMG Sports Media, the sports production and distribution division of IMG Worldwide, is the world's largest independent producer and distributor of sports programming, offering the market an extensive catalogue of more than 18,000 hours of television, online, mobile and radio sports content across 240 categories of sports, including golf, football (soccer), tennis, cricket, cycling, motor sports and mixed martial arts. IMG Sports Media also represents the broadcast rights to many of the world's premier sporting events and maintains the world's largest sports archive with more than 250,000 hours of footage.

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