The Olympics Games

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The Olympics Games

• Television and the Olympic Games

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Television is the dominant medium that impacts
the Olympic Games
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History of Television

• Berlin, 1936
• 25 broadcast parlors in Berlin
• 3 TV cameras (1 live camera)
• 138 viewing hours
• 162,000 viewers
• No broadcast fees to IOC

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History of Television

• London, 1948
• Local broadcast zone (50 mile radius of London)
• 64 viewing hours (programming not live)
• 600,000 viewers
• Broadcast fee established in concept (3,000 US)

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History of Television

• Helsinki, 1952
• First attempt at Broadcasting Rights negotiations
  (FAILED)
• Melbourne, 1956
• Second attempt at Broadcasting Rights
  negotiations (FAILED)
• ISSUE
• TV Networks rejected IOCs Demands
• Olympics were news, not entertainment
• RESULTS
• Olympic Games blackouts in Major TV markets

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History of Television

• Sophia Bulgaria, 1957 (53rd IOC Session)
• Rule 49 1st IOC Policy on Broadcast Rights
• Composed by Brundage and Otto Mayer
• Host cities negotiated deals
• IOC distributed revenue (no policy)
• 9 minutes/day Royalty-free coverage

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Avery Brundage
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Television History

• ISSUES 1960 and early 1970s
• Satellite Technology
• IFs dissatisfaction
• GAIF (power struggle)
• IOC resistance to enter TV Economy
• Broadcast rights versus installation fees

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History of Television

• Rome Formula, 1966
• 1/3 of 1st million btw IOC, IFs, NOCs
• 2/3s of 1st million to OCOG
• 2/3 of 2nd million to IOC, IFs, NOCs
• 1/3 of 2nd million to OCOG
• 1/3 of every subsequent million to IOC, IFs, NOCs
• 2/3 of every subsequent million to OCOG
• Cap on IOC revenue after 3 million
• Revision

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History of Television

• Rome, 1960
• 1st live Broadcast in Europe, 18 countries
• Delayed coverage in US, Canada, Japan
• Hosts give 50,000 to IOC (IFs get none)
• Tokyo, 1964
• Global satellite
• Mexico City, 1968
• 1st live colour telecast
• 1st use of slow motion replay
• ABC pays 4.5 million
• Sapporo, 1972
• 1st General feed for selective broadcasting

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History of Television

• Munich, 1972
• OCOG claims expenses prior to submitting revenue
  reports
• IFs reach compromise for distribution
• 50 equally
• 50 proportionately (based-on gate receipts)

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History of Television

• 1974, IOC Television Sub-Committee
• EBU members
• US Network members
• 1983, IOC Television Right Negotiating Committee,
  
• Dick Pound (Canada), Chair
• 1984, IOC Joins OCOG in negotiation process
• ABC wins Calgary Bid, 309 Million
• Blind bidding process
• EBU wins Calgary Bid, 5.7 Million
• Awarded by Samaranch
• 1988, Olympic Winter Games extended over 3
  weekends

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History of Television

• 1988, USOC demands proportion of TV profits
• 1988, USOC negotiates 10 of US TV Rights revenue
  (in perpetuity)
• 1991, The Olympic Broadcast Act, US Congress (not
  passed, but revisited in 1996)
• Transfers negotiation of US Rights from IOC and
  OCOG to USOC
• 1995, 1st Long-term Rights Deal with NBC
• Sydney 2000, Salt Lake 2002
• 1996, NBC, USOC, IOC agreed on 2.3 billion
  Rights Package 2004-2008

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USA versus International Fees
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Summer Olympic Games TV Revenue
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Winter Olympic Games TV Revenue
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Distribution of TV Revenues
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At the Olympic Games

• OCOG Requirements
• Working facilities (International Broadcasting
  Centre IBC, Main Press Centre MPC)
• Accommodation
• Transportation
• Telecommunications
• 12,000 Media Accreditations Summer
• 7000 Media Accreditations, Winter

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Host Broadcaster Responsibilities (Case Study)

• Calgary, 1988, CVT HB
• Plan, create and manage the IBC, Big Four
  Building
• TV and Radio Studios
• Control rooms
• Technical rooms
• Master Control Room
• Shipping and Receiving
• Banks, Lounges, Offices
• Provide full coverage of all events

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Broadcast Relations Division of OCO 88

• Responsibilities
• Quality Control of Host Broad
• Specify Technical Standards
• Facilitate Relations btw HB and OCO 88
• Facilitate Relations btw HB and Rights Holders

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TV and Athletes at the Games

• Three Locations for TV/athlete exchange
• Sport competition (HB)
• Mix Zone (NOC, IF, OCOG, Rights Holders)
• IBC (HB, NOC, Rights Holders)

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Gruneau Televsion, The Olympics and The
Question of Ideology

• Televisions elaboration and selection of
  preferred emphases and meanings, its favoured
  narratives, its management of contradictory
  themes and values, can all be seen as part of a
  complex process through which some understandings
  of sport, the body, consumer culture, and the
  pursuit of excellence are naturalized while
  others are marginalized, downgraded, or ignored.

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Gruneau Preferred understandings, discourses,
etc.

• Two levels of discursive layers
• Technical
• Programmatic
• Focus of Mediation (from last class)
• The Movement
• The Festival
• The Sport/Competition
• The Athlete/Personality

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GruneauPreferred understandings, discourses, etc.

• Sport is a timeless and universal expression of
  humans need to strive for excellence.
• The history of sport is emptied of conflict and
  causation and reduced to a chronicle of Romantic
  images and personalities.
• Criticism This neutralized the fact that sport
  has been the locus of conflict between class,
  ethnicity, race, and gender

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Gruneau

• Collaborative Communicative Process
• Broadcasters/ Audience Markets
• Unequal collaboration that supports dominant
  perspectives
• What type of sport is being promoted?
• The dangers of apparent fairness!
• Stupid realism of Olympic broadcasting
• Discourse of modern publicity
• The realm of common sense
• A pervasive cultural reality

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Gruneau Preferred understandings, discourses,
etc.

• Olympic Television Broadcasts Naturalize
• A social definition of sport that emphasizes
  specialization, record setting, commercialism
• Narrow concept of bodily/physical norms
• Privatized consumption of sporting good/lifestyle
• Sports important relationship with nation states
  units or power
• Meritocracy as a means of reconciling rival
  claims of freedom and democracy

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