CBC wins rights to 2014, 2016 Olympic Games

[radiofan]

CBC wins rights to 2014, 2016 Olympic Games
CBC News Posted: Aug 1, 2012 12:00 PM ET Last Updated: Aug 1, 2012 12:25 PM ET

CBC/Radio-Canada has won the Canadian media rights for the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, and the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro.

"CBC/Radio-Canada has been an unwavering champion of amateur sport and our nation's best athletes," said Marcel Aubut, president of the Canadian Olympic Committee Wednesday. "They have unparalleled experience in broadcasting major multi-sport events, most notably the Olympic Games."

For almost 60 years, and on 19 different occasions, CBC had broadcast the Olympic Games, most recently during the 2008 Olympic Summer Games in Beijing.

"This is excellent news for Canadians across the country who will once again experience the Olympic tradition with their public broadcaster," CBC president Hubert Lacroix said in a statement.

"We've promised Canadians signature events on all our platforms that create opportunities to connect with each other and the country."

The deal comes more than a month after CBC and Bell Media announced they would no longer submit joint bids for the Canadian media rights for the games.

The two media organizations, which had formed a partnership last September, had submitted two joint bids for the package, but both were rejected by the International Olympic Committee.

Canada's Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium, made up of a partnership between Bell Media and Rogers Communications, had the broadcast rights for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics and currently have the rights for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/201 ... ights.html

[johnsykes]

So that's where my tax money is going.....I'd like to ask why CBC, pleading for more money to handle their programming, is going after the Olympics. We have sports stations coming out of our ears.....so tell CBC to do what it does best....news and public affairs....leave sports to those who do sports best. And, for that matter, send Hockey Night in Canada to the Sports stations too. Canada needs public broadcasting like a hole in the head. It has served its purpose...leave it to the pros to handle things from now on. Please, no more stuff like ....."he may have won" when a Canadian was yards away from the finish.
An unwritten rule with CBC Sports......never give up until the ship has sunk....even though said ship was ten feet under already.

2014 and 2016 I'll be watching international coverage (hopefully).

[Howaboutthat]

Well said John!!

[freqfreak2]

From what I've read elsewhere, after CTV pulled out of bidding for 2014 and 2016 because their bids weren't high enough the IOC approached the CBC.

Word has it the IOC thought twice about not having their product televised and decided to offer it to the broadcaster who previously covered the games.

And as the IOC is still negotiating with other broadcasters worldwide, they're not revealing what CBC is paying for the rights (and I'm sure it's in the fine print for the CBC not to offer disclosure either).

[slowhand]

For all I know, Hockey Night in Canada and the Olympics could be money makers for the CBC. Given the value of the advertising these things attract.

I truly don't know the answer to the question. What I do know is that how much the Rights cost the CBC does not matter if you are a Canadian taxpayer. What does matter is the net cost after adding the CBC's production costs and subtracting the advertising revenue.

[WheresFredTaylor]

Not to mention, CBC doesn't have the platform to broadcast like CTV and Rogers. Who really pays for "Bold" here? Most of us can take solace in the fact that the public broadcaster can't afford both the Olympics and NHL rights anymore.