★★★★★ 0/5

Olympics to proceed “with or without COVID”

So is this good or bad news for Seven?

7
Leave a comment

The Tokyo Olympic Games will go ahead next year “with or without Covid”, according to the International Olympic Committee.

John Coates confirmed to news agency AFP that the Olympics would start on 23 July next year, calling them the “Games that conquered Covid, the light at the end of the tunnel.”

They were originally scheduled to start in July 2020, but were postponed due to Covid-19 fears.

In July, Tokyo 2020 chief executive Toshiro Muto said it was possible that the Games be held to a “limited” audience, but said they wanted to avoid the possibility of having no spectators at all.
He added that the Games could potentially “simplify” its opening and closing ceremonies, as well as reduce the number of staff and delegations from each country.

But while it sounds like good news for Seven, it’s worth remembering that networks have sought reduced broadcasting rights for content that does not equal what was originally agreed to. Seven is currently locked in a tussle with Cricket Australia over proposals for the summer sport, and previously revised its AFL contract with $87m in savings.

The massive rights paid to the IOC was for a fully-staged Tokyo games -including opening & closing ceremonies- originally for 2020, but postponed to 2021.

Source: Yahoo

7 Responses

  1. You’d think all media organisations should use this as an opportunity to revamp how they report at the games, base it in Australia, article previously on here with espn and the virtual interviews, why not make use of that technology, and if you must a few local Japan based reporters on the ground rather than a full on team especial if they are wanting to save money on the event.

  3. If games go ahead, I think commentators may want to fly to Tokyo if borders are open to Japan. Some commentators will head to Tokyo while others may have to stay either in Sydney to present the Olympics.

  4. If the olympics were being hosted in USA, Brazil or even the UK this would be a concerning announcement but Japan seems to have a better handle on the virus.

  5. Keep the price the same. It’ll be the same sport coverage etc, why not have the local TV crew/hosts stay put in an Australian studio (Perth as it’s the same time zone bar an hour).

Leave a Reply