Olympic Games

Polish public-service broadcaster TVP has paid an increase of over 40 per cent to acquire rights to the 2018 and 2020 Olympic Games from media group Discovery Communications.

TV Sports Markets understands the Telesport agency has acquired rights in Russia to four Olympic Games, the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and is currently in negotiations with Fifa for rights to the 2018 World Cup.

Discovery Communications’ decision to end negotiations with Germany’s public-service broadcasters over the free-to-air rights for the Olympic Games will be a very expensive one.

German public-service broadcasters ARD and ZDF are unlikely to change their position over free-to-air rights to the 2018 and 2020 Olympic Games, despite being subjected to questions in parliament this month over their hard-line negotiating tactics.

The Infront Sports & Media agency has been working with advertising giant WPP to source sponsors for its free-to-air 2016 Olympics Games feed in sub-Saharan Africa, TV Sports Markets understands.

Discovery Communications this week recouped more than 10 per cent of its €1.3bn ($1.4bn) investment in Olympic Games rights across Europe by striking a sublicensing deal with the BBC.

The European Broadcasting Union’s chances of winning the rights to the Olympic Games from 2018 to 2024 were undermined by two internal splits, TV Sports Markets understands.

Fox’s deal to sublicense rights to the 2016 Olympic Games in Turkey to the Saran Media agency marks the end of its failed experiment with sport in the Turkish market.

Another public-service broadcasting union lost its grip on Olympic Games rights following deals signed by the International Olympic Committee late last month.

France Télévisions last week sublicensed rights to the summer Olympic Games of 2016 and 2020, recouping a decent portion of its investment.

The International Olympic Committee earned a significant increase from Chinese state broadcaster CCTV this month, but the new deal still falls well short of the true market value of the Games.

The breadth and depth of coverage the 2018 and 2020 Olympic Games will achieve in Canada is seen by the International Olympic Committee as an acceptable trade-off for a minimal increase in media-rights income.

Australian commercial broadcaster Seven is paying a high price in its deal for the Olympic Games of 2016, 2018 and 2020, local media-rights experts say, but the broadcaster will view the deal as a good investment for a number of reasons.

The International Olympic Committee and the Japan Consortium of broadcasters, which this month acquired exclusive Japanese rights to the Olympic Games from 2018 to 2024, are both likely to be happy with the deal, local experts say.

The acquisition last week by Hong Kong broadcaster TVB of the rights to the 2016 Olympic Games underlines the determination of the broadcaster to protect its dominant position in free-to-air television while making inroads into the pay-television market.

USA

The International Olympic Committee has robustly defended last week’s long-term deal with US media group NBCUniversal on the three key areas in which it has come under scrutiny.

América Móvil enjoys Olympic benefits but the big prize will come in 2016

Fox and ESPN explain why having the Olympic Games non-exclusively makes sense in Latin America

Why media rights fees for Sochi have fallen from the Vancouver Games