IOC, USOC resolve revenue share dispute

MUMBAI: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) have signed a new revenue sharing agreement that will govern the financial relationship between the two parties for two decades, beginning in 2020 running through till 2040.

Newswire AFP quoting unnamed officials said that "the USOC will retain the revenue it currently receives, but it would net a smaller share from television and marketing deals as overall revenues rise above a set minimum".

Under the old agreement, the USOC receives 20 per cent of the funds from the IOC‘s top sponsors and 12.5 per cent of the US television revenue from the Games until 2020 which is the amount that all other Olympic committees receive put together.

The reason USOC received a major chunk of IOC‘s revenue was due to the fact that most of the sponsorship and television revenue came from US.

The deal, which runs until 2040, paves the way for US to bid for the 2022 Winter Games or 2024 Summer Olympics. The USOC has maintained that it will not bid for Olympic Games until its dispute over the share of Olympic television and sponsorship revenues are resolved.

"The USOC is an absolutely crucial pillar in the Olympic Movement. This agreement lays a cornerstone which will provide the foundations for the continued growth of the Movement and our shared values, not just in the United States but around the world," said IOC President Jacques Rogge.

USOC president Larry Probst added, "I would like to thank President Rogge and his colleagues at the IOC who worked so diligently over the course of the last year and a half to find a solution that works for all parties. I can confidently say that we have accomplished that goal and have set the stage for a much more collaborative relationship going forward."