Hurdles to Clear for US Olympic Network

Olympic trials would become a programming feature for the proposed US Olympic Network.(ATR)(ATR) The USOC and IOC appear to be searching for a way to defuse a dispute over thelaunch an Olympic channel in the U.S., a channel the IOC worries could pose a threat to the value of TV rights for the Olympic Games.

Wednesday the USOC announced that it would partner with U.S. cable giant Comcast to launch the U.S. Olympic Network next year. The channel would operate 24/7, its programming consisting of competitions involving the Olympic sports and other events but not the Games themselves. Games-time coverage is reserved for the U.S. broadcast rights-holder, which is determined by the IOC.

The USOC drew the ire of the IOC when it went ahead with the announcement. The IOC says there are issues to be resolved while the USOC says it does not need IOC permission to move ahead.

A day later, USOC and IOC issued carefully-worded statements that indicate a willingness to address IOC concerns about the new channel.

"The IOC is seeking additional information on USOC's plans and remain hopeful that we can work through the issues and reach a solution that works for all the many partners involved and for the American public in particular,” says the IOC statement.

The USOC also pledges cooperation - and says it has kept the IOC informed.

“We agree with the IOC on the importance of working together to reach a positive solution that works for all the parties involved and hope to do so as soon as possible,” says the USOC statement.

“We have had and will continue to have numerous conversations with the IOC leadership,” the statement concludes.

Butthe IOC says it has not been fully informed on plans for the USON.

“We were aware that the USOC had been considering a new 'Olympic broadcast network', but we have never been presented with a plan, and we had assumed that we would have an opportunity to discuss unresolved questions together before the project moved forward. It is for this reason that the IOC is disappointed that USOC acted unilaterally and, in our view, in haste by announcing their plans before we had had a chance to consider together the ramifications,” says the IOC release.

“The proposed channel raises complex legal and contractual issues and could have a negative impact our relationships with other Olympic broadcasters and sponsors, including our U. S. TV partner, NBC,” warns the IOC.

There is no word on when meetings might be scheduled to resolve the differences between the IOC and USOC, but an official with the USOC says plans are being made for talks.

IOC Members Endorse Network, Dismiss Chicago Concerns

Two European IOC members are rallying around the idea of the U.S. Olympic Network.

Gerhard Heiberg, chair of the IOC Marketing Commission, tells Around the Rings the new network can be a plus for the U.S.

"They have been talking about this for a long time and finally they launch it. I hope and think it will be a positive thing for the U.S. It will draw a lot of attention to the Olympic Games and Olympic sports.”

Heiberg says he does not believe the Olympic TV channel could spell trouble for the Chicago 2016 bid: "I don't think it will have an impact on the voting of IOC members [Oct. 2]. If it should, it might even be positive ... it [the Olympic Network] means the U.S. is putting more emphasis on Olympic sports."

IOC member from Sweden Gunilla Lindberg agreed, insisting she doesn’t think the launch of the TV channel will have any negative repercussions for Chicago 2016. She tells ATR it could only be a boost for the Olympic Movement in between Games. "It is always good to keep the profile up every year for the Olympic Games and the Olympic Movement," she said.

Ebersol Expresses Doubts for USON

NBC Universal Sports chairman Dick Ebersol says talks ended between NBC and the USOC in April over joining forces on the USON.

“It would have been much richer for the American viewer,” Ebersol says about a partnership with Olympic rights-holder NBC instead of the route chosen by the USOC, to work with cable company Comcast.

NBC has held the U.S. rights to the Olympics on NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol.(Getty Images)a continuous basis since 1996, with the current deal ending in 2012.

“I’m disappointed that being such long-term partners that they would have paid more attention to our bid and a channel that would have a better chance of succeeding,” he is quoted in the New York Times.

The New York Times reports that the USOC says it could not come to terms with NBC on the new channel. Ebersol says the odds of success for the channel are long, despite its potential to help Olympic sports. Ebersol saysthat research in 1999 indicated that “less than one-tenth of one percent” of those surveyed showed interest in an Olympic channel.

Ebersol also tells the New York Times that he believes the dispute between the IOC and USOC could have repercussions for the Chicago bid.

“This so unnecessarily reopens all the wounds,” he says, referencing past disputes between the two committees.

It remains to be seen what the repercussions might be ahead for the next round of U.S. TV rights – which are expected to be negotiated within the next year. NBC, as well as Fox, ABC and CBS were all talking with the IOC. The formation of the USOC network could presumably cause some changes in the thinking of those broadcasters as to the value of the U.S. rights, which sold for $2.2 billion to NBC for the eight-year run that ends in 2012.

As far as any conflict between the USOC and NBC over the Smaller sports such as Paralympic judo would find a place on the new U.S. channel, set to debut in 2010. (Getty Images)use of the term “Olympic Network”, there apparently is none. A USOC official tells ATR that NBC’s rights to the term “America’s Olympic Network” expired at the end of 2008.

USOC Says Network has Fans

Based on two lengthy compilations of quotes from people in the U.S. associated with Olympic sports, the suppport for the USON is unanimous among the dozens of athletes and officials.

"Awesome and gives the general public opportunity to watch sports that can only be seen during the Olympics,” says Steven Lopez, twice a gold medalist in taekwondo. He’s one of two dozen athletes, mostly Olympians, who gush enthusiastically about the prospects of the USON will have on their sport.

“To be able to share the true depth of the Olympic experience with fans on a 24-hour basis - that is huge step for all past, present and future Olympians," is the blurb from Chad Hedrick, speedskater at the 2006 Games.

"Sounds pretty cool and I am excited because you can see your friends compete from other sports and now the US can see them also," says Seth Kelsey, 2004 and 2008 fencing Olympian.

U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association President and CEO Bill Marolt is one of a dozen national governing bodies leaders who are included in the litany of kind words for the USON. His remarks are the only ones to address how the USON fits in with current TV deals for USSA – which he says will be favorable.

"The new Olympic TV network will be another opportunity to tell the story of our ski and snowboarding athletes. The network will be a positive complement to our current valuable media partnerships with NBC, Universal Sports, Versus, Go211.com and Fuel TV."

Despite the glee from the U.S. Olympic sports family for the TV network, there are some more sober assessments coming.

Skip Gilbert, chairman of the association representing U.S. NGBs, is reported to be drafting a list of questions covering viability and viewer interest to pose to the USOC. Neither of those critical issues have been openly discussed yet in detail by the USOC.

Without even a firm launch date, signed contracts for sponsors, nor agreement with the IOC, the USOC would appear to have created expectations that the U.S. Olympic Network is a reality.

“Now that we have a specific network promoting the Olympic & Paralympic movements, as well as the achievements of athletes with physical disabilities people around the country will have the opportunity to see who we are and what we're capable of accomplishing,” says cycling Paralympian Greta Neimanas, obviously counting on the USOC leadership to deliver the TV network it is promising.

Written by Ed Hula

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