Singaporean media company MediaCorp has struck a rights deal for the Rio 2016 Olympics just hours before the start of the Games tonight (Friday).
In June, MediaCorp acquired rights for highlights of the Games in a deal with advertising agency Dentsu. However, an agreement for live coverage appeared unlikely when Singapore’s Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth told the Straits Times newspaper last week the rights fee had escalated to the point where such deals were “neither prudent nor value-for-money”.
The same newspaper has now reported that Dentsu lowered its asking price from $6m (€5.4m) to $3.2m to secure a deal.
MediaCorp will exploit the rights on Okto, its dedicated pay-television sports channel, which will also show daily highlights of the Games. MediaCorp will also show coverage via OTT Toggle channels, which are available for free as long as the user has a broadband connection.