The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said Tuesday it has awarded the Beijing 2008 Games Internet and mobile phone platform rights for China to the digital arm of Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.
The IOC said it selected CCTV.com on its capacity to guarantee full exploitation of the digital broadcast rights over a variety of platforms, by working in close cooperation with its television broadcast team.
CCTV was awarded over-the-air TV rights for Beijing 2008 as a member of the Asian Broadcasting Union, in 1998.
Jacques Rogge, President of the IOC, said, “we look forward to working with out broadcast partner CCTV and its digital arm, CCTV.com to bring the excitement of the Olympic Games to a new generation of fans in China”.
Richard Carrion, a member of the IOC’s TV rights and new media commission, released a statement saying, “by granting digital rights to CCTV, the IOC believes CCTV.com’s digital team will work closely with the broadcast team at CCTV to develop joint executions across media platforms. This will ensure Chinese Olympic fans have access to the best possible Olympic coverage in 2008”.
