The International Olympic Committee will hold bidding for the television rights to the 2014 and 2016 Olympics Games (in Sochi, Russia, and Rio de Janiero, Brazil, respectively) on June 6 and 7 in Lausanne, Switzerland, Sports Business Daily reports. NBC paid $2B for rights to the ’10 Vancouver and ’12 London Games, and IOC leaders have said they expect to match or exceed that for the ’14 and ’16 Olympics.
As SBD reports, “Bidding networks will agree to contractual terms with the IOC in advance of traveling to Lausanne. Once there, they will be given two hours to make a presentation illustrating how they will present the ’14 and ’16 Games. Then they will submit a sealed bid containing what they are willing to pay for the rights. The IOC will determine who wins the rights based on the presentations and the size of the bids.”
NBC, ESPN and Fox are considered the most serious bidders. CBS and Turner have met with the IOC but have not shown the same level of interest in the rights to date.