Seven West Media Lands 2016-20 Olympic Broadcast Rights

LAUSANNE: Seven West Media has been awarded the broadcast rights for the Olympic Games in 2016, 2018 and 2020.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has granted Seven the rights for the XXXI Olympiad in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, the XXIII Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang in 2018, and the Games of the XXXII Olympiad in Tokyo in 2020, as well as the second Summer Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing in 2014. This spans all media platforms.

Thomas Bach, IOC's president, said: “Seven has a lot of experience in broadcasting major sports events, and first broadcast an Olympic Games in Melbourne in 1956. We are delighted that we will work with Seven until at least 2020. The IOC enjoys long-term partnerships and this agreement is something of a homecoming between us and Seven. Seven has made a concrete commitment to help promote the Olympic Movement and the Olympic values, not only during each edition of the Games, but all year round, and this was an important consideration in our decision making. The IOC redistributes over 90 percent of its revenues for the benefit of the wider Olympic Movement, and the funding generated by this agreement will support sport around the world, future organizers of the Games, and ultimately the athletes themselves.” 



Kerry Stokes AC, the chairman of Seven West Media, said: "We are delighted to once again be entrusted with bringing the Olympic Games to all Australians. The Olympic movement and Seven have enjoyed a long and deep partnership since the Games in Melbourne. We are looking forward celebrating our five decades association with the Olympics in Rio and to taking this partnership to a new level over the coming decade."

IOC VP John Coates, a member of the IOC’s TV Rights and New Media Commission, said: “I am very pleased to have finalized this long-term agreement, and our work with Seven begins right away planning for this summer’s second Youth Olympic Games. We’ve had a long relationship with Seven, which last covered the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, and we are happy to welcome them back to the Olympic team. Seven will work closely with the IOC to make this a successful partnership, not only in terms of great broadcast coverage of the Games, but also support for the promotion of Olympic sports and the Olympic values.” 



Tim Worner, Seven West Media's CEO, added: “The Olympic Games are much more than just a sporting event; this is still the greatest show on earth and we are both privileged and excited to bring them and all they stand for to the Australian public. This commitment and investment in our biggest ever Olympic broadcast agreement confirms our belief in the future of free-to-air television in Australia. But more than that, it confirms our confidence in being able to provide popular and profitable content across all our platforms, now and in the future. We don’t look at this as a series of 17-day events; our work as an Olympic partner starts today and will continue every day for up to the next ten years. It’s well known Australians are amongst the keenest sports watchers in the world and to have two of the three Games in our time zone, possibly more, and Rio’s best competition in our daylight hours, allows Seven West Media to maximize its investment.”