The International Hockey Federation (FIH) and Chinese major state television broadcaster CCTV have extended their partnership to screen Chinese men’s and women’s team participation in FIH World Level events until the end of 2011.

The deal represents a two year extension to a long running partnership between FIH and CCTV, which began in 2006.

CCTV is the major state television broadcaster in mainland China, having a network of 19 channels broadcasting different programs and is accessible to more than one billion viewers.

China has risen in the ABN AMRO WorldHockey Rankings in recent years, culminating with the women’s team winning silver at the Beijing Olympics.