IOC agrees new TV rights deal to 2016

ATHENS, Aug 2 (Reuters) The International Olympic Committee (IOC) today said it had signed a new deal with South Korean broadcaster SBS for the rights to four Summer and Winter Games until 2016, worth more than double the previous contract.

The IOC said the 72.5 million dollar deal would for the first time include Olympic coverage for both North and South Korea.

''This new contract with SBS will allow the deployment of a full spectrum of new media rights as well as extending the coverage of Olympic Games into North Korea,'' IOC Executive Board member Richard Carrion, who led the negotiations, said in a statement.

''The financial aspects are also favourable for the Olympic Movement,'' he added.

SBS will pay 33 million dollars for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics and the London 2012 Summer Games and another 39.5 million for the 2014 and 2016 Olympics, whose locations have not been chosen yet.

The deal marks a 109 percent increase from the previous four-Games agreement, which runs out after the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and also introduces the IOC's concept of appointing a single broadcaster who will act as a gatekeeper of the bundle.

That broadcaster can then fragment it into smaller packages taking advantage of new media, instead of the usual IOC approach of selling the rights in an already pre-determined package deal.

''This deal ensures a broader reach and greater coverage with a dedicated and enthusiastic new broadcast partner,'' IOC president Jacques Rogge said.

The IOC has said global broadcasting rights deals for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics and 2012 London Summer Games alone are expected to be about 30 percent higher than the previous Turin/Beijing Games rights package.

The 2014 Winter Olympics will be awarded next year while the location of the 2016 Summer Games will be decided in 2009.

REUTERS DH PC1738