Key Points
- Two Circles has secured a new four-year partnership with the International Skating Union (ISU), covering the 2026/27 to 2029/30 seasons.
- The UK-based sports agency will become the ISU’s global partner for media rights, sales and production.
- The agreement follows a centralised tender process described by the ISU as its first of this kind.
- Two Circles will provide media-rights consultancy, lead sales outside the ISU’s core markets and support broadcast production across the federation’s skating disciplines.
- The partnership covers Figure Skating, Speed Skating, Short Track Speed Skating and Synchronized Skating.
- The arrangement is intended to help the ISU expand its global fan base, strengthen audience engagement and develop the commercial value of its events, athletes and media rights.
- Two Circles will also support opportunities involving sponsorship, direct-to-consumer initiatives and events as part of the ISU’s wider commercial strategy.
- ISU Director General Colin Smith said the agreement represents an important step in delivering the organisation’s strategic vision for skating.
- Two Circles CEO and co-founder Gareth Balch said the agency would help connect media rights, production and content more closely around the fan journey.
- The partnership will be led from Two Circles’ Bern office, supported by expertise from the agency’s wider international teams.
- The deal represents a substantial commercial contract for a UK-based sports agency with an international sports governing body.
What has Two Circles agreed with the International Skating Union?
Two Circles has entered into a four-year partnership with the International Skating Union (ISU) covering media rights, sales and broadcast production across the federation’s sports. The agreement covers the 2026/27 through 2029/30 seasons and expands an existing relationship between the organisations.
The announcement was made on 7 October 2026 by the ISU, which described Two Circles as its Global Partner for Media Rights, Sales and Production. The agreement brings several functions together under one partnership, including media-rights consultancy, sales in markets outside the ISU’s core territories and production support.
Sportcal’s report, “Two Circles wins ISU partner agency contract,” is the source identified for the news supplied for this story. The accessible Sportcal search record did not expose the article’s byline, so no author name has been inserted rather than attributing the report to an unverified journalist.
The ISU’s own announcement confirms the central commercial elements of the agreement and provides statements from Colin Smith and Gareth Balch.
Why is the ISU partnership important for Two Circles?
The agreement gives Two Circles responsibility across several commercially important areas of the ISU’s international media operation rather than limiting the agency’s role to a single service.
Under the arrangement, Two Circles will advise the ISU on media rights, help sell rights outside its established markets and provide broadcast production support. The agency will also work with the federation on areas including sponsorship, direct-to-consumer initiatives and events as part of the ISU’s commercial strategy.
This wider remit is significant because the agreement brings media rights and production together within one relationship. The ISU said the approach is intended to create greater consistency across its calendar while helping the organisation balance audience reach with commercial returns.
The agreement follows what the ISU described as its first centralised tender. The federation said the process is part of a broader transformation of its organisation, including changes to its digital architecture and its efforts to establish stronger foundations for future growth.
For Two Circles, the contract adds another international governing-body relationship to its portfolio and extends its involvement in sports media, commercial rights and audience development.
What media rights responsibilities will Two Circles have?
Two Circles will provide media-rights consultancy to the ISU and take responsibility for sales outside the federation’s core markets.
The agency’s role will include advising the ISU on how to balance the reach of its media rights with revenue generation. It will also lead sales in markets beyond the organisation’s traditional territories, with the stated aim of opening additional opportunities for skating.
The ISU said the agreement is designed to identify opportunities across media rights, sponsorship, direct-to-consumer initiatives and events. These areas form part of a commercial strategy intended to generate sustainable growth and additional value for stakeholders across skating.
This means the contract extends beyond simply finding broadcasters. It places Two Circles within a broader commercial framework involving the distribution and monetisation of the ISU’s sports content and rights.
For a specialist agency such as Two Circles, the arrangement also creates an opportunity to apply its data, commercial and audience expertise across multiple skating disciplines and international markets.
Which skating disciplines are covered by the agreement?
The partnership covers all four of the ISU’s sports: Figure Skating, Speed Skating, Short Track Speed Skating and Synchronized Skating.
The ISU said the partnership is intended to create more opportunities for audiences to discover, watch, follow, engage with and learn about each discipline.
The federation is the worldwide governing body for these four skating disciplines. According to the ISU, it was founded in 1892 and represents more than 100 members across nearly 80 countries. It is also recognised by the International Olympic Committee.
The breadth of the agreement therefore gives Two Circles a role across a broad international sports portfolio rather than a single competition or individual discipline.
That structure is also relevant to the ISU’s ambition to make its commercial and media operations more consistent. Rather than approaching each discipline through completely separate arrangements, the partnership provides a more centralised framework.
How will broadcast production be handled?
Two Circles will provide production support throughout the four-year agreement, including live broadcast production and additional content designed to support promotion and storytelling.
The agency said the production element would help create a more consistent and centralised production approach across the ISU calendar. The work is intended to complement the media-rights side of the relationship by bringing production and content closer to the wider fan experience.
The arrangement means the agency’s responsibilities will span both commercial and production functions. That could allow the ISU to coordinate how rights are sold and how its events are presented to audiences.
The ISU’s announcement also links the production role to its wider objective of improving the ways fans discover and engage with its sports.
This combination of media-rights expertise, sales and production is one of the defining features of the new contract.
What did Colin Smith say about the new agreement?
ISU Director General Colin Smith said the partnership is an important step towards implementing the organisation’s strategic vision for skating.
According to the ISU’s announcement, Smith said the organisation’s governance structures had been modernised and its events had demonstrated their ability to attract passionate global audiences. He described the media sales and live-production partnership as a critical step towards the ISU’s strategic vision.
Smith also pointed to the integrated tender process, saying it establishes a foundation for more efficient processes and collaboration with industry-leading partners to generate value for stakeholders in skating sports.
His comments place the agreement within the ISU’s broader organisational development rather than presenting it simply as a conventional agency appointment.
The federation has been operating under its ISU Vision 2030 strategy since 2024. The strategy is designed around an athlete-first, member-friendly and fan-centric organisation while also addressing innovation, governance modernisation and engagement with audiences and partners.
What did Gareth Balch say about the partnership?
Gareth Balch, CEO and co-founder of Two Circles, said the agency sees an opportunity to bring media rights, production and content closer together around the fan journey.
According to the ISU and Two Circles announcements, Balch said the agency had seen the ISU’s ambition for the future of skating and recognised the passion of its global fan base.
He said the opportunity was to connect media rights, production and content more closely, helping the ISU reach more people and deepen engagement across its sports. Balch added that Two Circles was proud to continue its relationship with the ISU and support its ambition to bring more people closer to skating both on and off the ice.
The comments indicate that audience development will remain an important part of the agency’s role.
Two Circles describes itself as a global sports and entertainment company focused on growing audiences and revenues for major organisations. The company said it manages billions of fan-data interactions for more than 950 clients worldwide and works with organisations including the NFL, Premier League, Wimbledon, World Rugby, EA SPORTS and UEFA.
Where will Two Circles deliver the ISU partnership?
The partnership will be led from Two Circles’ Bern office in Switzerland, with support from the agency’s international teams.
The ISU and Two Circles said the work would be delivered through the agency’s multi-capability offering, bringing together expertise across the organisation to support commercial progress across the ISU.
The Bern base is particularly relevant to the relationship because the ISU is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. The geographic proximity provides a regional base for the partnership while the agency can draw on its wider international resources.
The structure also reflects the international nature of the contract. The ISU’s rights and competitions reach audiences across numerous markets, while Two Circles operates internationally across sports, media, data and commercial activities.
How does the contract fit Two Circles’ wider commercial activity?
The ISU agreement adds to a series of international commercial and media partnerships secured by Two Circles in recent years.
Sportcal has previously reported on several major appointments involving the UK-based agency. In July 2024, Sportcal reported that Two Circles had been appointed as the exclusive agency for commercial and media rights connected with UEFA women’s football for the 2025-30 cycle. That arrangement included sponsorship rights for UEFA women’s football and media sales for the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
Sportcal also reported in 2025 that Two Circles had partnered with Cricket Australia to support its commercial approach, revenue growth and global reach.
In another 2025 report, Sportcal said Two Circles had partnered with MotoGP to support fan growth in the US and UK through a data-driven content strategy.
The agency’s portfolio therefore includes relationships involving sponsorship, commercial rights, media distribution, data, content and audience growth.
The ISU agreement fits into that broader business model while giving Two Circles responsibility across several connected functions for a major international winter-sports federation.
What does the agreement mean for the ISU’s commercial strategy?
For the ISU, the agreement creates a centralised commercial and production framework intended to support audience growth and the long-term value of its rights.
The federation has said its objective is not only to increase the number of people who watch skating but also to strengthen the relationship between fans, athletes, events and the organisation’s commercial rights.
The new agreement combines media-rights consultancy, international sales and production, allowing the ISU to pursue those objectives through a single strategic partnership.
The organisation’s Vision 2030 programme provides the wider context. The ISU says the strategy is designed to modernise its governance, strengthen its relationship with members and place fans and athletes at the centre of its development.
For businesses operating around sports media, sponsorship, rights management and audience engagement, the contract also illustrates the growing commercial importance of combining data, media distribution, production and marketing capabilities.
In this context, Sales and Marketing is directly relevant to the commercial side of the agreement, particularly the work around media-rights sales, sponsorship opportunities, audience development and international market expansion.
What happens during the four-year partnership?
The partnership will run across four skating seasons, from 2026/27 through 2029/30, with Two Circles working across media rights, international sales and production throughout the period.
During the agreement, the agency will support the ISU’s commercial strategy, advise on media-rights reach and revenue, lead sales outside core markets and provide live-production and supplementary-content services.
The work will cover Figure Skating, Speed Skating, Short Track Speed Skating and Synchronized Skating.
The ISU said the partnership is intended to provide a foundation for more efficient processes and help create sustainable value for the federation’s stakeholders.
For Two Circles, meanwhile, the agreement represents another long-term relationship with an international sports governing body and expands its responsibilities across media, commercial and production functions.
As the ISU implements its Vision 2030 strategy, the four-year contract will place Two Circles in a position to contribute to the federation’s efforts to broaden its global audience, develop new commercial opportunities and strengthen the way its skating events are presented and distributed internationally. Sales and Marketing therefore provides a natural professional context for understanding the commercial-rights, audience-development and partnership-management activities involved in the agreement.