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IOC expects 40 per cent rise in broadcasting rights for Olympics
MUMBAI: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) forecasts that broadcasting rights revenues will top $3.5 billion in the run-up to the 2012 Summer Olympic Games.
This represents a 40 per cent increase over the $2.5 billion for the cycle leading to the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympic Games.
A report in the Financial Times states that the projections are based on increasingly strong interest shown in the rights globally.
IOC president Jacques Rogge told the Financial Times that the IOC would most certainly generate $3.5 billion on TV rights in the four-year run up to the 2012 Games.
Presently host city organising committees are entitled to 49 per cent of the income raised from broadcasting with, with the balance retained by the IOC for distribution to international sports bodies.
But after the Beijing Games there will be a change in the rules entitling host cities to a fixed amount of broadcasting rights revenues, rather than a fixed percentage of TV revenues.
Another report indicates that the cost of broadcast rights in the US for the 2010 and 2012 Games have risen 46 per cent to $2.2 billion from the last Games. In Europe, they have risen 30 per cent to $746 million and in Canada they have doubled to $153 million.
For the IOC, which first sold television rights to the BBC in 1948 for a little more than $A5,000, the sale of Olympic broadcasting licenses is now a hotly contested and jealously guarded multi-billion dollar enterprise. Indeed, it has become the largest single income earner for the IOC, far surpassing direct sponsorship, ticketing and other sources of revenue.
In the past the licensed media corporations have strongly protected their turf. They have regularly made it clear to the IOC that any weakening of their monopolies would reduce ad revenue, undermine the market price of broadcast rights and sponsorship deals, and thus lower the IOC’s income.
In 2000 unprecedented restrictions on other media companies had led to conflictsand particularly with the scores of Internet sporting news sites that wanted to provide coverage of the event.
Meanwhile Telstra may play a key role in the bidding for the Australian broadcast rights to the 2010 Winter Olympics and the 2012 Summer Olympics, which for the first time will include the rights to Internet broadcasting and mobile phone content. Telstra owns the Nine Network.
NEW DELHI: Hamdard Laboratories gathered a cross-section of India’s achievers in New Delhi on Friday, handing out the Hakeem Abdul Hameed Excellence Awards to figures who have left their mark across healthcare, education, sport, public service and the arts.
The ceremony, attended by minister of state for defence Sanjay Seth and senior officials from the ministry of Ayush, celebrated individuals whose work blends professional success with a sense of public purpose. It was as much a roll call of achievement as it was a reminder that influence is not measured only in profits or podiums, but in people reached and lives improved.
Among the headline awardees was Alakh Pandey, founder and chief executive of PhysicsWallah, recognised for turning affordable digital learning into a mass movement. On the sporting front, Arjuna Awardee and kabaddi player Sakshi Puniya was honoured for her contribution to the game and for pushing women’s participation onto bigger stages.
The cultural spotlight fell on veteran lyricist and poet Santosh Anand, whose songs have echoed across generations of Hindi cinema. At 97, Anand accepted the honour with characteristic humility, reflecting on a life shaped by perseverance and hope.
Healthcare honours spanned both modern and traditional systems. Manoj N. Nesari was recognised for strengthening Ayurveda’s place in national and global health frameworks. Padma shri Mohammed Abdul Waheed was honoured for his research-backed work in Unani medicine, while padma shri Mohsin Wali received recognition for his long-standing contribution to patient-centred care.
Education and social development also featured prominently. Padma shri Zahir Ishaq Kazi was honoured for decades of work in education, while former Meghalaya superintendent of Police T. C. Chacko was recognised for public service. Goonj founder Anshu Gupta received an award for his dignity-centred rural development initiatives, and the Hunar Shakti Foundation was honoured for empowering women and young girls through skill development.
The Lifetime Achievement Award went to former IAS officer Shailaja Chandra for her long career in public healthcare and governance, particularly in the traditional systems under Ayush.
Speaking at the event, Hamdard chairman Abdul Majeed said the awards were a tribute to those who combine excellence with empathy. “These awardees reflect Hakeem Sahib’s belief that healthcare, education and public service must ultimately serve humanity,” he said.
Minister Seth struck a forward-looking note, saying India’s young population gives the country a unique opportunity to become a global destination for learning, health and wellness by 2047.
The ceremony also featured the trailer launch of Unani Ki Kahaani, an upcoming documentary starring actor Jim Sarbh, set to premiere on Discovery on 11 February.
Instituted in memory of Unani scholar and educationist Hakeem Abdul Hameed, the awards have grown into a national platform that celebrates those building a more inclusive and resilient India. For one evening at least, the spotlight was not just on success, but on service with substance.
