The Olympics did not change Beijing; Beijing changed the Olympics

Michael Hedges November 26, 2008

The International Olympic Committee is meeting this week for the official debriefing on the Beijing Olympic Games. The main topic of conversation is money, likely the only topic; how to get and keep more. That means keeping the media under control.

The moment of truth for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) came not at the stunning opening ceremony, the stunning closing ceremony, nor anything in between. It was, rather, at an emergency meeting held in Beijing after the pre-Games torch relay set off a storm of protests and a firestorm of negative media fueled in significant part by the Web. Sponsors and rights holders were nervous and asking tough questions.

That meeting was secret, like all major IOC meetings. Another secret meeting was held last week (November 17) in Vancouver ahead of a scheduled four day media event organized by the Vancouver organizing committee. At the secret meeting of the press commission, reported by the Vancouver Sun, Associated Press (AP) president and CEO Tom Curley “stunned”those assembled by stating the obvious: the way people get and want to get news has changed. The IOC’s Beijing rules on news media – that being non-rights holding media covering the Olympic Games as news – were “unacceptable.” Without substantial changes, said Curley, he’d see the IOC in court.

Tom Curley isn’t the first nor will be the last to demand better access for news organizations. But the IOC is steadfast inn protecting what it loves most: money. Rights holders pay (and pay and pay) for the eyes and ears of those interested in the Olympic events. And they want those eyes and ears exclusively. The Beijing Rules forbid the gathering of video and audio from the “field-of-play” by anybody other than rights holders.

The IOC’s rules on press accreditation are equally absolute. Officially local organizing committees determine which media organizations and reporters can have access to venues. The IOC reserves the right to review accreditations. This was all very straightforward when press coverage was the domain of big broadcasting networks, big newspapers and established agencies. Then came the internet.

Yahoo! doesn’t fit any of those categories and it sent 19 reporters to Beijing. It’s sending a few more to cover the Vancouver winter Games in 2010 because, as Yahoo! Sports executive editor Dave Morgan told the Vancouver Sun, itwill be “visually stunning.”

“The model that still predominates in Olympic coverage and content distribution is TV-centric, rights-holder-controlled and appointment-driven,” said Curley to the IOC. “No successful media company or sports authority can continue to operate that way in a world that has shifted to always-on, user-controlled access to news and information.”

At a secret IOC meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland a week before the secret meeting in Vancouver European Broadcasting Union (EBU) Secretary General Jean Reveillon asked that some consideration be given in handing out rights, and therefore access, to public broadcasters. Beijing Games ended the EBU’s rights deal with the IOC, negotiated for most European public broadcasters. The IOC has opted for individual rights deals with whoever pays the most.

"If you are seeking to maximize revenue, irrespective of coverage, you should think about the impact of less free-to-air exposure on the popularity of your sport," said Reveillon in remarks published the day after the IOC meeting in Lausanne. "Changes may bring risks which could damage relationships with consumers, and ultimately sport."

The IOC responded by awarding 2014 and 2016 rights for Italy and Turkey to News Corporation’s Sky Italia and Fox Turkey, respectively.

Turkey’s public broadcaster TRT, stunned, said it would likely drop Olympic coverage and may shut down its all-sports channel TRT3.

"It is in your interest to maintain a wide audience in order to guarantee the popularity of your sport," evoked Reveillon. "While our competitors are not interested in sports that are less attractive on TV, or which are not so popular, we remain the largest carrier of the entire range of Olympic sports."

“We’ve now got a multi-year deal with Sky Italia,” said IOC rights marketing guy Timo Lumme to TV Sports Markets (November 9). “They understand that the Olympic brand offers something very different, but very appealing.” Of course, theIOC has had four major sponsors quit this year. They’ve got to find more money somewhere.

That brand – the Olympic Games – has thrived on great coverage through the breadth of media. Restricting coverage access to rights holders and rights to for-fee outlets cuts the public message. One would think the IOC might be concerned about hearing in a few years,” I remember the Olympics. I haven’t heard much about it since 2008.”

Oh, yes; the Chinese have happily returned to their own restrictive media controls.