CBC still going for Olympics rights, if profitable, broadcaster says

CBC/Radio-Canada will continue to seek the broadcast rights to the 2014 and 2016 Olympic Games but will not make a money-losing bid for the sports rights, said Jeffrey Orridge, executive director of CBC sports properties. Last week, CBC and BCE Inc. said they will abandon a partnership through which the broadcasters submitted two joint bids for the Canadian broadcasting rights to the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games and the Rio 2016 Olympics. One of those bids, which the International Olympic Committee (IOC) rejected, was under $77 million, The Globe and Mail reported in January. “Should we decide to go forward, we would not go forward with a losing proposition,” Orridge said in a phone interview with The Wire Report. “Whatever we do would be fiscally responsible.” Orridge said CBC sees Olympic broadcasts as part of its genetic makeup and that the Crown corporation must examine all of its options as it pursues broadcast rights to the Olympics. “Any premium sporting event that allows us to showcase Canadians and Canadian athletes on a world stage, that’s important to the public broadcaster,” he said. “That’s part of our mandate, that’s part of our mission, to be able to do that ... that’s part of our DNA.” Orridge said CBC is now considering a solo bid for the broadcast rights but it would not rule out the possibility of another partnership with a broadcaster or with a new media entity such as Yahoo! Inc. or Google Inc. He said CBC would be willing to consider any option that could allow the public broadcaster to carry the Olympics without losing money. “I can’t speculate on what the options might be that we’re considering, but we are certainly looking at all of our options and assessing what our next steps will be,” he said. Bell and Rogers Communications Inc. teamed up to form Canada’s current Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium, which successfully secured the rights to Olympic Games in Vancouver in 2010 and in London this summer. Rogers assumed a 20 per cent stake in the consortium and Bell's CTV 80 per cent. CBC's bid for the 2010 and 2012 games fell short of the Bell-Rogers consortium's winning bid of $153 million US, representing a 110 per cent increase from the $73 million US that CBC paid for the rights to the 2006 and 2008 games. Rogers said last year it will not pursue a bid for the 2014 and 2016 Olympic Games. Peter Sisam, a consultant with IMG Canada who is working with the IOC on its broadcasting rights deals, said Yahoo inquired about the rights to the 2014 and 2016 games but has not bid for them. “Yahoo has expressed some interest, but they have not made a bid,” he said. Sisam said in a phone interview that a partnership between a traditional broadcaster like CBC and an Internet and new media company like Yahoo may be a good fit for the games because they could complement each others’ coverage. Brian Schecter, a media analyst and president of consulting firm Puddle Duck Productions, said it is unlikely that Yahoo or another new media company would make a solo bid for the two sets of games. He said it would be difficult for such a company to justify the cost of the broadcast rights in a medium-sized market like Canada. “There’s no way that an emerging service like an over-the-top or a Yahoo Sports or an Apple TV would be looking to spend significant coin to generate market presence in Canada over the Olympics,” he said. Another source with knowledge of Olympic broadcasting in Canada questioned whether an online technology company could produce an Olympics broadcast that lives up to expectations. The source said Olympics productions involve millions of dollars in spending on production and broadcasting equipment, hundreds of staff to shoot and produce events, and the resources to produce dozens of features about Canadian athletes. “The thing that Rogers, CTV and CBC have is sports broadcasting divisions—people who know how to do it, and facilities, the talent, the team,” the source said. Sisam said there is some conversation about a potential Shaw bid for the Olympics but nothing has materialized from those discussions. If CBC pursues a solo bid for the games, it could sell off some of the broadcast rights to other Canadian broadcasters after the deal is completed, Schecter said. He suggested Bell-owned TSN or independent sports station The Score would be interested in acquiring some rights. CBC could also boost Olympics revenues by applying to the CRTC to temporarily change one of its specialty services into an Olympic broadcasting channel for the course of the games, he said. Schecter said carrying the games can help broadcasters draw attention to their other programming, which can increase viewership in the weeks before and after the Olympics. “The Olympics would be a real windfall for them in terms of a rating period in February,” he said. Orridge said CBC is concerned that a drawn out rights negotiation process could hamper the public broadcaster’s ability to “deliver the gold standard” of Olympics broadcasts, particularly for the 2014 games. He said the broadcast rights to the games will also lose value as negotiations drag on and the window of opportunity to sell advertising space narrows. “There is a point where, depending on the timeline, there’s potential to be adversely impacted just for lack of time,” he said. “Sponsors and advertisers make other commitments.” The value of the broadcast rights could be impacted by a decision on whether NHL players can compete in the ice hockey event at the Sochi games in February 2014. The NHL and NHL Players' Association are expected to determine that through collective bargaining negotiations under way this summer. Sisam said CBC and Bell asked the IOC whether they could submit two conditional offers: one with NHL players and a lower offer in the event they do not play. He said the IOC rejected the conditional offer proposal. Schecter said Rogers and Bell overpaid for the 2010 and 2014 rights at $153 million. Sisam said the IOC recognizes that broadcasters will not pay that much for the next round of games, which will not include competition on Canadian soil. Schecter and Sisam agreed it is still possible for a broadcaster like CBC to make money off of an Olympic production. “There’s all kinds of factors that come into play, but yes, you can make money if you manage your money right,” Sisam said. nkyonka@thewirereport.ca

CBC still going for Olympics rights, if profitable, broadcaster says

Broadcast | July 4, 2012

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CBC still going for Olympics rights, if profitable, broadcaster says

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