‘Something’s wrong’: Eliasch seeks TV rights control for FIS
By ERIC WILLEMSEN
Associated Press
SÖLDEN, Austria (AP) — FIS President Johan Eliasch has got a reminder of the long road ahead to his desired centralization of Alpine skiing’s media rights. The Austrian Ski Federation has announced a two-year TV and streaming deal with NBC. Eliasch’s vision is for the International Ski and Snowboard Federation to be the party selling those rights to World Cup races. Eliasch says, “Through improved media rights management we can bring in much more money into FIS.” But the Austrian ÖSV and other large national ski federations are reluctant to give up their marketing rights and lose revenues from their events.