The deals were made by the IIHF's exclusive media and marketing partner, Infront Sports & Media, and include, for the first time, six Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries - including Armenia and Georgia - who are newly covered through an agreement with MIR TV.

Infront, who have been in charge of handling all forms of electronic media rights for the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship on a global basis, will offer a high quality video streaming service on the official IIHF website in territories where no conflicting media rights agreements are in place.

The service will provide fans with the opportunity to watch games live or on demand throughout the tournament for a one off fee of $34.90, as well as giving options for "follow your team" and "playoff" passes for $19.90 each.

More than 975 million people tuned into the Championships last year which saw Sweden secure gold on home soil ©Getty Images


The 2014 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship got underway today at the Minsk Arena and the Chizhovka Arena, with action set to continue until may 25.

Sweden is the reigning world champions having co-hosted the event with Finland last year.

In 2013, the event had achieved an all-time high cumulative television audience of 975.15 million.

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