Infront Sports & Media extended its commercial rights agreement with the Champions Hockey League, the pan-European club ice hockey competition. Following the first two seasons, the new agreement covers a period of six years from '17-18 onward. It includes media rights sales, marketing of the event and commercial packages, overall venue management, digital strategy and management of the TV production. The '15-16 season achieved a cumulative audience of 153.1 million, which is a 64% increase compared to the inaugural '14-15 season. There were 157 games broadcast in HD with rights distributed to 19 broadcasters and digital platforms, covering a total of 40 territories worldwide. A new qualification system from the '17-18 CHL season onward has been presented. A new total of 32 professionally ranked teams will be granted entry based purely on sporting merit. Within the new criteria, 24 of the best teams from the founding national leagues, eight from the Challenge Leagues -- with a maximum of five teams per country -- will be accepted into the competition alongside the previous season CHL Champion and the Continental Cup Winner, which are granted automatic qualification (Infront).
