The Sportfive agency has announced the opening of the sales process for home video rights to the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games in 40 territories across Europe.
The process includes Sochi 2014 host nation Russia, and Sportfive said offers for the rights to the next Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 can also be submitted.
The home video rights permit the production and distribution of audiovisual programming from Sochi 2014, embodied on traditional storage devices for the purpose of viewing in private accommodation or other non-public venues after the conclusion of the Games.
The rights also include the possibility of downloading content as media files on a permanent or semi-permanent basis. Video-on-demand television or pay-per-view television rights are excluded.
The International Olympic Committee’s decision to award Sportfive the broadcast and exhibition rights to the 2014 and 2016 Olympic Games in the 40 European territories marked the first time that an agency has acquired these rights to the Olympic Games and is sublicensing them.
Sportfive replaced the European Broadcasting Union as the IOC’s rights distribution partner in 40 European markets in February 2009 in a deal that guaranteed the governing body €236.5m ($321.6m). The EBU had held the rights since 1964.