ABU joins chorus of protest over Games swimming finals

ATHENS, Nov 7 (Reuters) The Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) today joined a growing chorus of protest against an International Olympic Committee decision to hold the 2008 Beijing Games swimming finals and much of the gymnastics in the morning.

The IOC made the decision two weeks ago, to the delight of American broadcasters who will have a prime-time audience and advertising revenues due to the time difference.

ABU President, Genichi Hashimoto, told a news conference in Beijing on the eve of their 43rd Annual General Assembly, the decision was disappointing for Asian audiences.

''We are very disappointed and strongly regret the changes that have been made to the time schedule for swimming and gymnastics,'' said Hashimoto.

''The Olympic Games is a highly anticipated event which everyone all over the world is looking forward to watching. But the people of Asia will not enjoy live coverage of these events and will not be able to watch their national athletes compete during prime time,'' he said.

John Barton, ABU Head of Sports, said the move could cost Asian broadcasters millions of dollars in lost advertising.

''The ABU has put its case to the IOC on behalf of its members, and is still pressing the issue.

''We will continue to do so because there is no question that the revenue generation opportunities to Asian countries such as Japan, Korea and even China will be denied,'' Barton said.

ENDS TRADITION The European Broadcasting Union and several swimming associations have also complained about the change, which ends a a tradition of evening swimming and gymnastics finals, arguing it was the choice of US broadcasting rights holder NBC.

Due to the time difference between Europe and China, the change means Europeans will need to stay up very late to watch the popular swimming finals.

Morning finals in Beijing mean prime-time audiences in the US for NBC, which paid 3.55 billion dollars for the exclusive North American media rights to the 2000 to 2008 Games.

The IOC has said it had discussed the issue with all stakeholders and its decision was final.

In China, the team and all-round individual events in the gymnastics are set for the morning, although the individual apparatus events will be contested in evening sessions.

All the track and field finals will take place in the evening with the customary exception of the marathon.

Swimming is a big draw for American audiences and the U.S. team led by Michael Phelps, who won six gold medals in Athens in 2004, enjoy a great rivalry with the Australian team.

The Australians have also opposed the change.

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