Coverage
The media coverage was directed by the Hungarian Television and was taken over by 80 broadcasters, including ARD, rbb, BBC, RAI and global sports channel Eurosport. Live streaming on the official website of the event was also available. The World Championships were the first ever canoeing event, where the spidercam was used, giving a three dimensional view of the course and making the races more lively for television viewers. 420 accredited press members were present throughout the competition, among others from Associated Press (AP), Agence France-Presse (AFP), Reuters and Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA). The event organizers also had a pioneer role in using social media tools such as Facebook, Twitter and blogs to extend the event's reach. Live results were provided by Sportline Ltd and could be reached from the official site of the event. Ovi came out with a free mobile application called Canoe 2011, with that one could be continuously informed about the results and the latest news, both in English and Hungarian.
José Perurena, president of the International Canoe Federation expressed his satisfaction with the coverage on the closing press conference of the event, having emphasized the records that were set in the World Championship: "I'm absolutely content. The finals over the weekend took place in front of a crowd of 15,000 people, and more than 400 correspondents reported from the event, both are record numbers in the history of canoeing." Perurena also highlighted the innovative technologies that debuted on the competition and made the broadcast more enjoyable. His view was shared by Itaian Canoe Federation president Luciano Buonfiglio, who stated that "for the member countries of the international federation, Szeged has been a very good occasion, in the best way, to showcase our sport on the international stage. Hungarian television production was really fantastic."
Read more about this topic: 2011 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships