CTV is once again Canada's Olympic network, starting with the Vancouver Winter Games in 2010.
The International Olympic Committee on Monday awarded television rights for the 2010 and 2012 Olympics to Bell Globemedia and Rogers Media ahead of a bid from incumbent Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
The rights for the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver cost $90 million US, while the rights for the 2012 Summer Olympics cost $63 million.
''This is the first time that the amount for the Games exceeds the Summer Games,'' IOC Finance Commission chairman Richard Carrion told an IOC news conference.
''We certainly believe that 2010 will be the biggest sport events in Canada this decade, may well be the biggest event in Canada this decade,'' added Ivan Fecan, president and CEO of Bell Globemedia.
CTV was also the host broadcaster for the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, which was the last time the Olympics were held in Canada. That was also the first time the Olympics were seen on TSN.
CBC's 12 year reign as Canada's Olympic broadcaster will come to an end with the 2008 Games in Beijing, China, for which the corporation paid a record $45-million US.
The host city for the 2012 Summer Olympics will be chosen July 6 from a group of Madrid, London, New York, Paris and Moscow. Paris is considered the front-runner.
CTV Inc., which is majority owned by BCE Inc., will showcase the Olympics on its main network as well as its subsidiaries, including TSN, its French-language arm RDS and Outdoor Life Network, which is licensed to broadcast outdoor sports.
''We think viewers are the winners here,'' said Fecan. ''The Bell Globemedia/Rogers Media partnership aims to have the most diverse and comprehensive coverage of the Olympics ever.''
Bell Canada, another subsidiary of BCE, agreed to pay almost $200-million CDN last fall to be the official telecommunications sponsor of the Vancouver Games.
Rogers Media plans to air Olympic content on its regional sports network Rogers Sportsnet, as well its radio network, headed by the FAN 590 in Toronto, and Rogers' two multicultural stations in Toronto.
The deal also brings together two of the countries biggest internet and wireless providers, Bell Canada and Rogers Wireless.
NBC is paying $2.201 billion US for the American television rights for the next two Olympics, including $820 million US for the Vancouver Games.
Highlights of the Partnership:
1. Unparalleled Broadcast Commitment
- Continuous coverage, 24 hours a day in French and English in 2010 and 2012.
- 4,158 total hours over both Games, including 1,291 over the air.
- 2,873 English- Language hours, including 22 hours per day on CTV.
- 1,100 French-Language hours.
- 185 Multi-lingual hours.
2. Outstanding Coverage
- CTV can be seen in 99 per cent of Canada's English speaking households.
- TQS can be seen in 95 per cent of all Francophone television households in Canada including 96 per cent of all Quebec households.
- Omni.1 and Omni.2 reach more than 5 million households and deliver programming in over 40 languages.
- Unprecedented cable/satellite network coverage including the Top 3 rated sports networks in French and English.
3. Extensive Commitment to Amateur Sports
- Our partnership currently produces twice as many hours of amateur sports programming than anyone else.
- Commitment to grow these hours by an additional 50 per cent.
- Commitment to spend on Canadian Amateur Sports Federations over and above the other rights payments set out in the bid.
4. Superior Partnership
- CTV and Rogers committed to pooling industry leading media assets to broadcast the Games and promote the Olympic movement in Canada.
- Building on historical and existing relationships with each-other and with the IOC to establish an unprecedented commitment to Olympism well into the future.