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The International Olympic Committee (IOC) today announced its agreement with SPORTFIVE International Sàrl (SPORTFIVE) for the Olympic broadcast rights for the XXII Olympic Winter Games (2014) in Sochi, Russia, and the Games of the XXXI Olympiad (2016).

SPORTFIVE has acquired the rights across all media platforms, including free-to-air television, subscription television, internet and mobile phone, across 40 countries in Europe (excluding France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom).

The IOC selected SPORTFIVE on its capacity to market the Olympic broadcast rights and its passion and commitment for the Olympic Games and the Olympic values.

SPORTFIVE will now seek broadcast partners on all platforms within the territories in which it has acquired rights, with the obligation to the IOC to ensure that the broadest possible audience has access to broadcast of the Olympic Games, including a commitment in each country of at least 200 hours of free-to-air television coverage for the Summer Olympic Games and 100 hours for the Olympic Winter Games.

IOC President Jacques Rogge said: “This agreement marks an exciting new era in the broadcasting of the Olympic Games. The IOC is committed to ensuring that as many people as possible have access to the best possible Olympic broadcast experience. We look forward to working with SPORTFIVE to make this a possibility across Europe. I would also like to thank our current partner, the European Broadcasting Union, for its hard work and dedication to the Olympic Movement over many years and we look forward to continuing our partnership for the Vancouver 2010 and London 2012 Olympic Games.”

IOC Vice-President Thomas Bach, who led the negotiations, commented: “The IOC is delighted to announce its partnership with SPORTFIVE. This agreement will ensure that Olympic fans across Europe have as much choice as possible in how they follow the Olympic Games across a variety of platforms. The agreement will also generate significant revenues, which will be distributed throughout the Olympic Movement, including to the International Sports Federations, the National Olympic Committees and the Organising Committees for the Olympic Games, to help stage the Olympic Games and ensure the development of sport across the world. I would like to thank all the organisations that participated in the tender for their hard work and their continued interest in the Olympic Movement.”

Richard Worth, CEO of SPORTFIVE Group, said “We at SPORTFIVE are honoured and delighted to have been appointed as the IOC partner for European TV rights for the 2014 and 2016 Olympic Games. We have already been working together with the IOC for a number of months to reach this point, and have been positively encouraged by the excellent spirit of partnership and co-operation which has developed. Our determination is to fully uphold the Olympic ideals throughout our relationship with the IOC and to establish a broadcaster network of the highest quality and commitment. We are also extremely fortunate to have received the full support of Groupe Lagardère and Lagardère Sports in this process, and it is a significant step forwards for all concerned in maintaining the reputation of SPORTFIVE as Europe’s leading sports marketing organisation.”

In addition to the agreement with SPORTFIVE, the IOC has already reached agreements with SKY Italia in Italy and FOX Turkey in Turkey for the 2014 – 2016 period. With respect to the remaining countries (France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom), the IOC will commence direct negotiations with broadcasters and media groups in due course. Any agreement in these countries will also include a commitment of at least 200 hours of free-to-air television coverage for the Summer Olympic Games and 100 hours for the Olympic Winter Games.

(Source: IOC)