(22 December 2007 6:00 pm)

MUMBAI: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced an agreement with CCTV.com for Internet and mobile platform exhibition rights within China for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

IOC selected CCTV.com on its capacity to guarantee full exploitation of the digital broadcast rights over a variety of platforms, by working in close co-operation with its television broadcast team. IOC was also impressed by CCTV.com’s commitment to promoting the Olympic Games and the values of the Olympic Movement in China.

Over-the-air TV rights for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games were acquired by CCTV, as a member of the Asian Broadcasting Union, in 1998. IOC considered interests from several companies for the Internet and mobile platform broadcast rights in the Chinese mainland, having launched a tender in March 2007.

IOC president Jacques Rogge said, “The Beijing 2008 Olympic Games will be a landmark moment in Olympic history and is obviously an event of huge national interest for China. Our agreement with CCTV.com represents a very exciting partnership for the Olympic Movement. We look forward to working with our broadcast partner CCTV and its digital arm, CCTV.com, to bring the excitement of the Olympic Games to a new generation of fans in China.”

IOC executive board member and member of IOC TV rights and new media commission Richard Carrión said, “The Beijing 2008 Olympic Games will break new boundaries in terms of digital Olympic broadcast. It was important for IOC to make sure that all potential partners understood the value of the rights and demonstrated they would fully exploit these rights in mainland China, while also providing satisfactory guarantees of anti-piracy and security measures.

"By granting digital rights to CCTV.com, IOC believes that CCTV.com’s digital team will work closely with the broadcast team at CCTV to develop joint executions across media platforms. This will ensure that Chinese Olympic fans have access to the best possible Olympic coverage in 2008.”

CCTV.com GM Wang Wenbin said, “The 2008 Olympic Games is a milestone both for new media broadcast in China and for the new media broadcast of the Olympic Games.”