The International Olympic Committee announced Wednesday that CBC/Radio-Canada has regained the rights to broadcasting the Olympics for the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, and the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro.
“We thought it was very important for the national public broadcaster whose strategy is signature events,” CBC president Hubert Lacroix said. “And there’s nothing more significant, more signature and more of an event that brings Canadians together.”
According to the Canadian Press, the network has broadcast 19 different Olympics for almost 60 years in Canada, most recently the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing. “We actually made sure that this was, based on our prior experience, a cost-neutral proposal,” CBC executive Kirstine Stewart told the CP. “This isn’t a deal that’s built to cost the CBC money and in fact, what we’re hoping for is a bit of a profit out of it.”
IOC president Jacques Rogge added in an official statement: “CBC/Radio-Canada has a wealth of experience in broadcasting sports and the Olympic Games and we are pleased that we will once again be joining forces with them in the future.”
For the current 2012 London Summer Olympics, Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium, comprised of a partnership between Bell Media and Rogers Communications, have the broadcast rights. In the past, CBC and Bell Media submitted joint bids on the Games, however a month ago they announced this would no longer be the case.
“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, to CBC News. “They have unparalleled experience in broadcasting major multi-sport events, most notably the Olympic Games.”
Photo: Anthony Stanley/WENN.com
Resources:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/story/2012/08/01/cbc-olympics-rights.html
http://www.globalnews.ca/entertainment/cbc+wins+back+canadian+media+rights+for+olympic+games+in+2014+2016/6442689944/story.html
http://www.vancouversun.com/Life/regains+Games+rights+2014/7028677/story.html
