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2015 IFAF World Championship will be shown live on ESPN3, ESPN International and Big Time Sports
All 12 International Federation of American Football (IFAF) World Championship games will be broadcast live on ESPN3 in the United States, on ESPN International broadband channels where available and at BigTimeSportsOhio.com. The seven-nation tournament is July 9-18 at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio.
In addition, the gold medal game scheduled for 7 p.m. ET Saturday, July 18, will be aired on SportsRadioAmerica.com.
ESPN3 is available to 99 million U.S. homes through computers, smart phones, tablets, Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 and Xbox One at no additional cost to fans who receive their high-speed Internet connection or video subscription from an affiliated service provider. The network also is available at no cost to approximately 21 million U.S. college students and U.S.-based military personnel.
ESPN’s International broadband services will stream the games live to 59 countries across Spanish-speaking Latin America, Brazil, the Caribbean, Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. All 12 games in those countries will be aired live on:
- ESPN Play in Mexico, Central America and South America, excluding Brazil (http://espni.go.com/player/welcome/latam/index.htm)
- WatchESPN in Brazil (http://espn.uol.com.br/watch)
- ESPN3 Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Islands (http://espni.go.com/player/welcome/australia/index.htm)
Viewers have access to each service at no additional cost if they receive their television subscription from an affiliated provider.
Big Time Sports is producing the games for airing and will host the live stream for countries outside the ESPN broadcasts. Based in Dover, Ohio, Big Time Sports will serve as the tournament’s media partner, providing interviews and information on its weekly web sports talk shows.
“We look forward to partnering with USA Football and ESPN in this international event,” Big Time Sports CEO Charlie Jones said. “With its technology, roster of talented broadcast veterans and mass audience delivery, Big Time Sports will help make viewing possible to millions of football fans throughout the world.”
All games aired by ESPN3 or ESPN International will be available at Big Time Sports 24 hours after completion. The games also will be archived at USA Football’s YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/usafootballtv.
“As the tournament host, USA Football is pleased to work alongside ESPN and Big Time Sports to bring this international event to football fans around the world,” USA Football CEO and Executive Director Scott Hallenbeck said. “Football is America’s favorite sport, but it also is played, watched and loved by millions of people beyond our nation’s borders.”
USA Football assembles America’s national teams in the sport for international competition. IFAF works with 78 countries on six continents that possess national football federations dedicated solely to American football.
The U.S. Men’s National Team includes athletes from 23 states and will compete in a field against national teams from Australia, Brazil, France, Japan, Mexico and South Korea. The IFAF World Championship has been held every four years since 1999. In 2011, the United States defeated Canada, 50-7, for the gold medal in Vienna, Austria. The U.S. beat Japan, 23-20, in double overtime in Kawasaki, Japan, to win the 2007 tournament, the first that included a team from the United States.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) granted IFAF provisional recognition in December 2013. Provisional recognition is the initial step toward permanent IOC membership, which IFAF could attain as early as 2016. IFAF’s permanent IOC membership would make American football eligible for a future vote to become part of the Summer Olympics lineup.
