Star India acquire TV rights for 2014, 2016 Olympics

Star India was awarded the broadcast rights for the 2014 winter Olympics and 2016 summer Games for seven South Asian countries, including India and Pakistan, the International Olympic Committee said on Wednesday.

The IOC has broken new ground in recent years, directly negotiating broadcast rights for some markets instead of selling the rights for all territories on a continent to one umbrella broadcasting institution.

"Star India acquired the rights to all media platforms, including free-to-air television, subscription television, internet and mobile, in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka," the IOC said in a statement.

[caption id="attachment_1001721" align="alignleft" width="380"]Broadcast rights revenues are the IOC's biggest source of income and will top $4 billion for the period 2013-2016. Reuters[/caption]

There were no financial details of the deal available. Russia's Sochi will host the 2014 winter Games while Brazil's Rio de Janeiro will stage the summer edition two years later.

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Broadcast rights revenues are the IOC's biggest source of income and will top $4 billion for the period 2013-2016.

"Traditionally the IOC has negotiated broadcast rights on a pan-Asian basis," said the IOC's chief negotiator Richard Carrion, who also heads the Finance Commission.

"However, the media landscape is changing and we have adapted our approach recently by negotiating directly in certain markets. We are very pleased to have reached this agreement directly with Star India."

The IOC launched a different sale process for the other 24 Asian territories in June.

Reuters