The International Olympic Committee this week inked a $155 million deal with the Japan Consortium in Tokyo. Under the agreement, the nation’s six largest independent television stations and members of the country’s National Association of Broadcasters will be permitted to transmit the 2004 Athens Summer Games to Japanese viewers.
The agreement, which is the third largest broadcast deal reached with the IOC in terms of broadcast license revenue, will allow the consortium to send about 1,000 broadcast personnel to Athens to cover the event.
The deal is the latest in a long list of broadcast agreements the IOC and the Athens 2004 organizing committee have reached with television and radio interests throughout the world, including with:
- The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. (CBC), which will send 500 employees to the Athens games.
- Television New Zealand (TVNZ), which will have a contingent of 90 employees.
- The Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU), including members from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Yemen.
- The Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU), including China, India, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. Together the ASBU and ABU will have about 500 broadcasters at the games.
- The Organizacion de la Television Iberoamericana (OTI), including Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia and Cuba and the Caribbean Broadcasting Union. The OTI contingent will be 1,000.
- Others including Chinese Taipei Television Pool, TELEMUNDO and SUPERSPORT International.
Previously, the IOC and Athens 2004 had reached agreements with the European Broadcasting Union and NBC, which will televise the games in the United States. NBC paid $793 million for the rights to the games.
The IOC and Athens 2004 are expecting about 12,000 broadcasters, including directors, technicians, engineers and talent, to descend onto the city to televise the summer games.
