CBC becomes exclusive Canadian FINA broadcaster

CBC Sports announced on Thursday that it will become the exclusive broadcaster of the world aquatics body FINA for the next four years.

4-year agreement will begin this summer at FINA world championships

The women's swim team emerged from the Rio Olympics as stars and hope to continue their success at the world aquatics championships in Budapest, Hungary. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

CBC Sports announced on Thursday that it will become the exclusive broadcaster of the world aquatics body FINA for the next four years.

The coverage will kick off on July 15 with the FINA world championships in Budapest, Hungary this summer where Olympic star Penny Oleksiak will once again look to put Canada on the medal podium in swimming. Other sports to be covered at the competition include diving, synchronized swimming, water polo, high diving and open water swimming.

"It's a great day for Aquatic sports and Water Polo in Canada," said Conrad Hadubiak, president of Water Polo Canada. "Canadians from all over the country will be able to follow Water Polo Canada National Teams at the international level, and witness outstanding performances from our athletes at the 2017 FINA World Championships in Budapest, Hungary."

 "As we saw at Rio 2016, some of Canada's brightest stars compete in aquatic events," said Greg Stremlaw, executive director of CBC Sports. "This unprecedented partnership made possible by the Canadian NSOs will allow us to showcase both established high-performance athletes and those on the rise throughout their journey to the top of the international podium."

The coverage of aquatic sports will add to CBC's upcoming programming including the IAAF world championships London 2017 from August 4-13 and the 2017 FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Montreal October 2-8.

Events will be shown on Road to the Olympic Games on CBC Television as well as live streamed on cbcsports.ca and the network's apps for iOS and Android.