New Media and the Impact on Olympic Broadcasting

Speaking in the framework of Sportel, the International Sports Forum for Television and New Media, IOC member Gerhard Heiberg, Chairman of the Marketing Commission, said that the IOC does not see television and new media as competitive but complimentary. “Together they will enrich the experience of the Olympic Games and widen their appeal to new audiences,” he told the broadcast professionals gathered in Monaco for the five-day event.

Full coverage to widest audience possible

Heiberg further stressed in his speech that the IOC sticks to its aims to ensure the fullest coverage by the different media and the widest possible audience in the world for the Olympic Games, as stated in the Olympic Charter. The Games in Athens in 2004 were seen by 4.3 billion unduplicated viewers in 220 countries while this year’s Olympic Winter Games in Turin were seen by 3.2 billion unduplicated viewers in 220 countries.

Granting New Media rights

To date, the IOC’s new media rights have always been granted to its broadcast partners as gatekeepers for their territories. “However, times and opportunities change and nobody should assume that this will automatically continue further into the future,” Heiberg said. “The IOC television broadcast rights marketing strategy is based on a territory-by-territory approach and there is now no reason to believe that this territory-by-territory approach cannot be applied with equal success to include new media opportunities.”

Added value to our partners

“We are enthusiastically active in extending our understanding of the best way of offering these rights so as to fulfil our obligations and provide added value to our partners in every territory,” he concluded.

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