TEN has won the rights to the Winter Olympics in 2014 according to media reports.
According to the Financial Review, TEN is believed to have paid around $20 million for the XXII Olympic Winter Games taking place in Sochi from February 7 to 23.
Those dates would fit perfectly with the start of 2014 ratings and help kick off the year.
The deal is believed to have been sealed separately from the 2016 Summer Olympics rights in Rio, which are still in limbo. Seven is rumoured to have offered $80m, short of the $120m sought by the IOC.
New TEN CEO Hamish McLennan has previously expressed his desire for premium sport on the network and TEN has reportedly bid aggressively for Cricket rights with Cricket Australia.
While the FinReview reports on a $500 million offer for the next five-year cricket broadcast rights,The Australian claims a ”$500 million cash offer are understood to be off the mark, with a complex deal including contra advertising on the table.”
If Nine retains the rights to internationals and Twenty20 matches, TEN could walk away with one-day internationals and the Big Bash League.
Nine is said to be harbouring doubts about whether to match TEN’s $500m bid for all forms of cricket as it contemplates walking away from the fierce bidding war.
Nine is still considering whether to exercise their last rights and is prepared to wait out the bidding timetable over the next three weeks
Source TV Tonight
