It has also bagged the non-exclusive rights to the Winter Youth Olympic Games in Gangwon 2024.
According to executives with knowledge of the matter, Viacom18 is believed to have paid roughly $31 million to bag the rights. The current rights holder, Culver Max Entertainment (Sony), came in second with a bid of about $25 million. Sony paid an estimated $10 million for the Tokyo Olympics 2020. The media rights were awarded through a competitive bidding process.
Under the agreement with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Viacom18 will provide multi-platform coverage of the games and ensure free-to-air television coverage within the region.
“Fans across India and the Subcontinent will be able to witness the magic of the Olympic Games through this partnership with Viacom 18.” As a dynamic sports and media market, this is an important strategic region for Olympic broadcasting, and this new media rights agreement will help us inspire fans and young people across these countries to engage with Olympic sports and the Olympic values,” said IOC President Thomas Bach.
“The Olympic Movement is getting stronger in India, buoyed by tremendous medal-winning performances by Indian athletes and their inspiring stories, a growing sporting culture, and an exponentially increased access to top-level content for millions of Indian sporting fans on their devices,” said Viacom18 Sports CEO Anil Jayaraj.
“We are delighted that we can present live Olympics content to each and every Indian through our multiple platforms and are proud to showcase the ultimate pursuit of sporting excellence all athletes embark upon to achieve the peak of sporting glory at Paris 2024.”
The IOC works with media companies around the world to ensure the widest possible reach for the Olympic Games. The Olympic media partnerships also contribute valuable revenue that ensures the long-term financial security of the Olympic Movement.
The IOC retains just 10% of these revenues, with the rest being distributed to support the staging of the Olympic Games, promote the worldwide development of sport and the Olympic Movement, and assist with the implementation of the Olympic Agenda 2020 and Olympic Agenda 2020+5.
Viacom18 has been on an acquisition spree after entering the sports broadcasting business last year. It acquired FIFA World Cup 2022 media rights for Rs 450 crore. It had bagged the Indian Premier League (IPL) digital rights for Rs 23,758 crore. The network also holds rights to properties like NBA, La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1, Badminton World Federation (BWF), and ATP Tour.
The company owns and operates three sports channels, Sports18, Sports 18 HD, and Sports 18 Khel. It also runs the streaming service Jio Cinema, which has become the home of live sports content from the Viacom18 stable.
