The International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) has broadcast its world championships live on Eurosport and Eurosport Asia for many years. That reach will expand dramatically as, on Feb. 29, 2024, the IPF announced that they had reached a multi-year agreement with CBS Sports to broadcast their World Championships across North America.
CBS Sports reaches 65 million households in the USA. This agreement is a significant step forward for powerlifting, increasing the exposure of IPF powerlifting in North America. See the IPF’s statement below:
The first IPF meet shown on CBS will be the 2024 IPF Bench Press World Championships (BWC) in Austin, TX, from May 22 through June 1, 2024. The event has a “Prime Time” format in which the Masters (ages 40+) lift in the morning, the sub-Juniors (age 14-18) and Juniors (age 20-23) lift in the early afternoon, and the Open class forms the Prime Time session in the late afternoon/early evening.
The classic benchers will lift on the first six days of competition. Single-ply equipped benchers will take over for the remaining five days.
The Prime Time sessions for six of the eleven days of competition will be broadcast live on CBS Sports in North America. There will be a highlights show covering the whole event broadcast at a later date.
The partnership extends to the IPF’s two main powerlifting world championships — the Classic World Championships in Druskininkai, Lithuania, in June and the Equipped World Championships in Reykjavik, Iceland, in November. Highlight shows will be broadcast after each event, showcasing the best lifting and battles.
This announcement comes only two days after announcing a new strategic partner in VisitMalta, the Malta Tourism Authority brand name. VisitMalta has sponsored the IPF and its European affiliate, the European Powerlifting Federation (EPF), coming on board as the official Destination Partner for both federations.
The 2023 IPF Classic World Championships (CWC) was held in Malta. It was one of the most successful and popular world championships, with many athletes extending their stay in Malta. The success of this event was a deciding factor for VisitMalta to join forces with the IPF.
This sponsorship deal ensures that many more World- and European-level powerlifting events will be held in Malta. They already have their next competition planned in August 2024: Malta will host the IPF World Junior Championships in which athletes up to 23 will lift in raw and equipped competition.
The CBS Sports coverage of the 2024 BWC will begin on May 25, 2024.
Featured image: @theipf on Instagram
