The IAAF is looking to extend its European media rights deal for at least another four years, from 2010 to 2013. If no agreement is reached with Dentsu, the IAAF will then proceed to tender in June or July.
The EBU’s initial offer is believed to have been about half the $20 million or so a year it pays now. The IAAF had earlier secured a new six-year deal in the US with the NBC network and its Universal Sports subsidiary, that guarantees the IAAF significantly more coverage and income than now.
The new deal involves a rights fee, unlike the present time-buy arrangement, which runs up until this year’s Berlin World Championships.