Nine chases Olympics broadcasting rights
Nine execs and Karl Stefanovic are said to be in Switzerland meeting the IOC.
- Published by David Knox
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Top Nine executives and Today show host Karl Stefanovic are reportedly in Switzerland this week to help Nine land the next Olympics broadcasting rights, according to a report.
A spokesperson from Nine told Mumbrella: “Karl Stefanovic has been sent on a secret assignment and won’t be returning to the Today show until Friday this week.”
The International Olympic Committee is expected to begin a formal tender for the rights to the next three summer and winter Olympics later this year.
The Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, and the 2032 Summer Olympics in Brisbane are yet to be tied to an Australian broadcaster.
Seven has held the rights since 2016, Seven paying a reported $200 million in 2014 for the three most recent games.
Meanwhile Amazon Prime Video has also not ruled out a bid.
“We look at every opportunity that comes to market,” Tyler Bern, Head of Content, Prime Video Australia, last week told the Sydney Morning Herald. “We do have an appetite for additional sporting rights, but what will be our next sports property after swimming? We don’t know yet. It just depends on what the opportunity is, where it falls within our slate and our programming calendar and obviously, economics and how competitive it is.”
The anti-siphoning list currently blocks pay TV provider Foxtel from bidding on Summer and Winter Olympic Games, ahead of Free to Air, but not streaming platforms as yet. It has previously called for a level-playing field in Sports broadcasting rights.
16 Responses
Oooooh so that’s where Karl’s been this week. They said he was ‘on assignment’. Really hope they get it. So sick of ch 7 having them all the time & acting as though they own them. I thought it was odd that 9 only got them for 1 games when they got the London games whereas ch 7 always have multiple games. And the extra channels Gem & Go were only new & there was some weird clause that they couldn’t show different events across the 3 channels. Things have changed now.
Last Olympics, I watched alot of sports I normally wouldn’t via 7+, and also would have it on at work on my phone while I work. So to me, the important thing is the online coverage of every sport, live and uninterupted, and ideally free. I hardly watched anything of the Olympics on the main channel, and often the coverage will jump around too much no matter who does it – hence the preference for online now.
If nine is successful in its bid, I certainly won’t be watching it.
I somehow think, Nine are likely going to offer the IOC a significant amount for 2024-2032 rights (not to mention significant bragging rights in the Brisbane marketplace) while committing to broadcast innovation (that is, offering 4K Olympics to all Australians in 2024 (not the deal Optus struck with 7 for Tokyo… that was ultimately dumped)… most likely for a price)
The fact that Nine is now a multi-platform broadcaster (unlike in 2012) means less parts of the rights picture are unused. It’d most likely also return Olympic radio coverage to the former MRN stations that Nine now owns.
Unless something changes with the way channels and spectrum is managed, we’ll never see 4k through FTA, as a single 4k channel would use the space of 3 or 4 existing channels. But they could offer 4k through Stan, etc.
when i saw Karl Stefanovic – i thought it was a belated April Fools joke
No doubt Nine is looking at single main channel coverage with all events in full behind the Stan paywall to make it work cost wise with no or minimal cost loss.
No need to on sell to Foxtel like they did in 2012, but instead be an incredible boost to Stan. Seven don’t have that advantage at the moment and will run at a loss again if they do their 2 channel broadcast linear coverage with non-paywall 7plus.
My thoughts too, with Stan Sports now featuring other sporting events including main event features, one could speculate that this Nine / Stan Sports venture is considered to have good future prospects. It’s difficult to know how Fox Sports will respond to Stan Sport looking ahead, but it will be interesting for sports fans, though perhaps not in a good way.
Can’t imaging Paris will be very desirable, it’s a similar time zone to London, which 9 overpaid for and it flopped. It might end up going cheap with networks holding fire for Australian Open rights and Brisbane 2032.
I suspect the IOC will look to sell the next 3 summer games as one lot preventing the networks “holding fire” for Brisbane. I thought seven did a decent job last go. Some of the commentary was irritating but with so many events (and a lot of events which are not mainstream so no ready talent pool of commentators), I can look pass that.
FTA thanks. Don’t care who.
Nine has traditionally fallen over when it comes to website support for the Olympics. For the past two Olympics Channel 7 had every event on 7+. And they kept the clips on the site for six months. Nine has yet to do that for any of their sporting events. Nine will have to ensure that their website support is as good as Seven because Seven’s Olympic coverage on the website was always top-notch
When Nine previously had the 2012 Olympics, their coverage has been appalling with replays of swimming, cycling and other events. It’s hard for me to determine whether it’s live action or replayed. And having Michael Slater in diving commentary is a miss. They could have used other people instead.
However, 9’s London coverage could have been improved by showing other events including tennis, badminton, football, road cycling, handball, volleyball, wrestling. As well, their coverage could have been improved by having more promotion at the end of 2011 (having the Olympic rings on the 9 watermark during the cricket & NRL telecasts).
I am in two minds of 9 having the Olympics – it will help build its profile, but will clash with NRL coverage. They could move the NRL to 9Go. But NSW & QLD continues to have NRL coverage on Nine during the London Games. The Games draw much higher than NRL. Take a leaf out of 7 and they moved the AFL to 7mate in all states during the Olympics.
Foxtel is prevented from bidding if they were to put the Olympics on their broadcast subscription television service, but there is probably no impediment if Kayo owner Streamotion put in a bid and the coverage was only on Kayo, Foxtel streaming and Foxtel Now.
Technically they shared parts of 2012 event with Nine, but can only bid after FTA. As to Kayo I doubt it would be tested.
I remember the channel 9 broadcast back in Vancouver that had all of nine’s “good ol’ boys” in the mix, it started with all the rugby league broadcast boofheads giving commentary in the same horrible OTT style they always do, and it ended with Eddie making homophobic comments about skaters.
I’d be happy if they kept Karl far away from the broadcast and focus on the sport. It’s not the footy show!