IOC Awards 2010, 2012 Broadcast Rights in South America

 LAUSANNE: ESPN has been awarded the broadcast rights in South America for the 2010 and 2012 Olympic Games from the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

ESPN takes on the free-to-air TV and radio broadcast rights in Argentina for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games and the London 2012 Olympic Games, including minimum free-to-air exposure guarantees; pay-TV rights to air the Games on cable and satellite platforms in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay for the same period; and satellite-only TV rights in Venezuela for the same period.

IOC’s president, Jacques Rogge, said, "The popularity of the Olympic Games in South America is growing rapidly, and we want to ensure that audiences in the region have the best possible broadcast experience. We are delighted to announce this agreement with ESPN and look forward to working with them."

IOC executive board member Richard Carrión, who led the negotiations, added, "ESPN will provide unprecedented levels of coverage of the Olympic Games, which is great news for sports fans in South America. We would like to thank ESPN for their commitment to the Olympic Movement."

"This is a tremendous milestone for ESPN’s business in South America," commented Russell Wolff, the executive VP and managing director of ESPN International. "This agreement expands our relationship with the IOC and adds the Olympic Games to the schedule of world class events we cover. The Olympics is on the world’s most inspiring events and we are very excited to bring it to sports fans around South America."

"The scope of this agreement offers us a tremendous opportunity to serve sports fans in South America," commented Tim Bunnell, the senior VP of programming and marketing at ESPN International. "The Olympic Games are at the pinnacle of all sporting events and I am pleased that ESPN can utilise and leveraqe its platforms to showcase an event of this magnitude to fans in South America."