IOC Awards STAR India South Asian Broadcast Rights

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has awarded STAR India broadcast rights to several multi-sporting events, including the 2014 Olympic Winter Games and the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, for airing in seven South Asian countries.

Despite the Indian national Olympic committee’s ban on participation due to alleged corruption, the Indian broadcaster now has rights to air coverage to multiple events in effectively the entire region.

STAR India now has broadcast rights to the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, the 2016 Summer Olympics Games in Rio de Janeiro, and the 2nd Summer Youth Olympic Games to be held in Nanjing, China, in 2014.

The agreement gives STAR India 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 deal means that STAR India must work to ensure that the broadest possible audience has access to broadcasts of the Olympic Games.

IOC President Jacques Rogge said of the decision: “We welcome the opportunity to work with STAR India for the upcoming editions of the Olympic Games and Youth Olympic Games. We are confident they will do a great job providing the best possible broadcast coverage of the Games, on a variety of platforms, to the largest possible audience in the seven different countries.”

IOC Finance Commission Chairman Richard Carrión – a contender for IOC presidenct in the upcoming election this September – led the negotiations and noted changing trends in the region: “Traditionally IOC has negotiated broadcast rights on a pan-Asian basis; however, the media landscape is changing and we have adapted our approach recently by negotiating directly in certain markets. We are pleased to have reached this agreement directly with STAR India.”

Nitin Kukreja, Head of Sport Business for STAR India, said, “The Olympic Games remain the pinnacle of sporting achievement where the world’s best in various disciplines face off for the title of Olympic champion. Indian athletes have also performed admirably over the last few editions, which is evident in the medal-winning performances that we have come to admire. We value our partnership with the IOC and feel that this spectacular extravaganza can be taken to even greater heights in India on both television as well as on digital platforms.”