US Olympic rights still failing to excite networks – claim 23/02/2010 |
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The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is getting a lukewarm response from US broadcasters in Vancouver as it tries to build up interest in the next round of bidding for Olympic rights in 2014 and 2016, it has been claimed.
SportsBusiness Journal (SBJ) reports that two potential bidders decided against making the trip to Canada, and the ones that did are planning to tell IOC executives that they will not bid as much as the $2.1bn NBC paid for the 2010 and 2012 Games.
The IOC is hosting top executives from ESPN and Turner Broadcasting during the Games, but executives from other potential bidders, Fox Sports and CBS, are reportedly not planning to travel to Vancouver.
An ESPN delegation led by president George Bodenheimer was scheduled to sit down with IOC President Jacques Rogge and other IOC members at the weekend, according to SBJ.
Turner executives, led by David Levy, also have meetings set up with IOC executives in Vancouver.
Several sources described these meetings as preliminary, but the gathering of such senior officials suggests that the IOC is getting closer to kicking off a bidding process which has been delayed by the economic downturn.
Last month, IOC president Jacques Rogge played down suggestions that the next round of rights would struggle to attract bids to match or better NBC’s 2010/12 figure.
"We had steady increase in the US rights for more than 20 years," Rogge said in late January. "We made a good jump for '10 and '12, Vancouver and London. We are now negotiating in Europe for '14 and '16 and we see no drop in Europe, so there is no reason why there will be a drop in the United States."
NBC has admitted that it will lose more than $200m on the Vancouver Games.
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