Athlos has signed a multiyear agreement with Scripps Sports to broadcast its annual events on Ion Television, the track organization founded by Alexis Ohanian announced on Tuesday.
It is returning to New York’s Icahn Stadium on Oct. 10, following a debut last September that included a post-event concert from rap superstar Megan Thee Stallion.
Capitalizing on the attention track received during the Paris Games, Athlos’ event last year garnered 3 million viewers across YouTube, ESPN+, ESPN2, DAZN and X/Twitter. The 2025 event will stream live on YouTube and X, with additional streamers to be announced at a later date.
Financial details of the broadcasting rights agreement with Ion were not disclosed.
This year’s event will feature a field event—the long jump—for the first time, with qualifiers taking place in Times Square on Oct. 9.
In May, the racing outfit announced its first three athlete-investors: two-time Olympic medalist Sha’Carri Richardson, five-time Olympic medalist Gabby Thomas and long-jump gold medalist Tara Davis-Woodhall. Details of their equity stakes were not disclosed.
Athlos’ new media deal is a positive sign for the sport after a tumultuous summer surrounding Grand Slam Track, the Winners Alliance-supported track league founded by Michael Johnson. After running its first three events in Kingston, Jamaica; Miami and Philadelphia, the circuit canceled its final event in Los Angeles originally set for late June.
In August, Johnson said the circuit would not run in 2026 unless it first settled its debts. The former Olympic sprinter, who is CEO and commissioner of Grand Slam Track, apologized for the league’s inability to make payments to athletes as it reportedly owes millions in appearance fees and prize money.
Grand Slam Track broadcasted its Friday and Saturday races on the CW and streamed the full three-day event on Peacock.
Scripps Sports continues to build Ion’s broadcast portfolio of women’s sports, which is anchored by the WNBA and NWSL. This spring, the hybrid network extended its rights agreement with the WNBA, which is one of two media deals the women’s hoops league signed independent of the NBA. Ion had reportedly paid $13 million per year in the initial three-year pact.
Ion will televise the Elevance Health Women’s Fort Myers Tip-Off, a Thanksgiving women’s college basketball showcase, for the next five years. Kansas, Missouri, Georgia and Dayton are among the eight-team field for the 2025 event.
Ion is also set to broadcast the first Sports Illustrated Women’s Games beginning Oct. 28. The weeklong “Team Americas vs. Team World” event will feature elite athletes competing for prize money in flag football, basketball, volleyball, tennis, gymnastics and combat sports. Among the competitors for Team Americas are former U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens and former U.S. Open finalist Leylah Fernandez.
