Olympics Dominate IMG Session

MIAMI, April 2 -- The downturn in the economy won't prevent companies from jumping into the bidding this fall for U.S. broadcast rights for the 2014 and 2016 Olympics, but it likely will force networks, cable companies and even online enterprises to join forces to assemble substantive and competitive bids, television executives said Thursday during a sports business conference here.

It's also unclear whether broadcasting companies will be willing to surpass the record $2.001 billion in rights fees NBC paid for the 2010 and 2012 Olympics. Turner Sports President David Levy said his company would consider entering the bidding but called that figure "high" considering the economic climate.

Because of the economic crisis, the International Olympic Committee pushed back the awarding of U.S. broadcast rights until after the selection of the 2016 host city in November. Chicago, Rio de Janeiro, Madrid and Tokyo are competing for those Olympics. The 2014 Winter Games will be held in Sochi, Russia.

"What's been paid to date is a lot of money for a couple of weeks of programming," said David Berson, ESPN's executive vice president of program planning and strategy, during the IMG World Congress of Sport. "If we can figure out the right model, we would be interested. . . . If [the 2016 site] is Chicago, that's certainly going to add interest. If it's Rio, that's a close time zone. If it's some other venue, that definitely makes it more challenging."

Added Berson: "For us, it's pretty simple: It's an attractive property and we like it -- in the right deal."

NBC and Fox are also expected to bid. CBS and Time Warner reportedly have talked about a joint bid.

Levy said the Olympics remains an appealing television property and that the IOC likely would receive more creative bid packages than in the past.

"Do I think the pricing should be up? No," he said. "I think the price was high . . . I think you are going to see different ways [of assembling bids]. I think there will be a lot of new innovation in rights fees."

NBC's record-breaking bid for the 2010 and 2012 Olympics was enhanced by an additional $180 million in sponsorship money from its parent General Electric, but GE might not be willing to team up in another such deal in this round of bidding, Peter Foss, GE's president of Olympic sponsorship and corporate sales, said Wednesday.

NBC has broadcast the Olympics since 2000, but many considered its 2003 bid for the '10 and '12 Olympics over the top. Foss said GE did the previous deal solely because it wanted to enhance its presence in China through the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing. "More of our revenue comes from outside the U.S. at this point," Foss said. "It's been a great vehicle for us, a great experience, but whether or not we continue is a big question."

In other news, several advertising executives said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's proposal to extend the regular season to 17 or 18 games would likely offer no boost to advertising revenue.

"It's not going to be like new football money coming into the marketplace," Levy said. "It's just going to be a shifting of money. It's not going to be additive."

Said Sam Sussman, Starcom USA senior vice president and activation director: "You've got so many big sporting event that are already sitting in those months [January and February] . . . I would personally be more interested to see it go on the front end of the season."