Channel 9 has reportedly secured the rights to broadcast the next three summer Olympic Games and the winter events leading up to Brisbane 2032.
According to the Nine-owned Sydney Morning Herald, the network offered more than $300 million for the rights, beating out Seven, which reportedly offered between $230 and $250 million.
Both offers were below the $400 million that the International Olympic Committee was seeking.
As the existing rights holder, Channel 7 held a “final right of refusal” clause which offered it the opportunity to match any rival offer.
Any deal involving Nine is likely to see coverage split between its free-to-air broadcast network and its subscription streaming platform Stan Sport.
A spokesperson for Channel 9 on Saturday morning refused to confirm or deny any details regarding the potential deal stating:
“we don’t make any comment on any negotiations we may have with third parties on any content.”
TV Blackbox understands Channel 7 decided not to aggressively pursue Olympic rights due to the economics of the deal not stacking up. Despite strong ratings and significant advertiser support, the network still lost $50 Million on its 2021 Tokyo Olympics coverage.
In a late Friday email to staff obtained by TV Blackbox, Seven West Media CEO James Warburton confirmed a network decision to withdraw from the Olympic negotiations process:
A massive end to the year with media rights negotiations on the Cricket and The Olympics.
The news is that we have made the decision to not retain the Olympics rights for 2024 to 2032.
The hard part – we love sport and particularly the Olympics – so this does feel like a kick in the guts.
Whilst you would think this is negative news, the reality is that the Olympics has been uneconomic and led to substantial losses and put massive pressure on our balance sheet over a long period of time.
BUT the truth is we have been forging a new path and these decisions of ‘economics over ego’ will completely liberate the business to go to our next phase of growth.
Cricket discussions are ongoing and I will provide an update as soon as they are finalised.
Have a great Christmas and see you in 2023 !!
While the Brisbane 2032 Olympics is considered the jewel in the crown for Australian broadcasters, the next two summer games, Paris 2024 and Los Angeles 2028 will see key events occur in poor timeslots for Australian broadcasters.
It is understood the IOC was unwilling to sell individual Olympics separately, preferring to do a bundled deal to maximise price.
Should Channel 9 finalise a deal for the Olympic Games, it will be the first time the network has broadcast the event since it partnered with Foxtel to broadcast the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics and 2012 London Summer Olympics.
The deal does not include the rights to the Paralympic Games, which are sold separately.
The deal comes at a crucial time, as Cricket Australia rights are also currently under discussion.
Hi Kevin, Channel 9 had the Olympic Rights to the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver and the 2012 Summer Games in London, while Network Ten had the rights to 2014 Winter Games in Sochi.
Yes, thankyou for the correction and Merry Christmas!
Channel nine’s Olympic coverage would lift up it’s network ratings despite a rich history of sports coverage.