The Guardian reports that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has hired the British company Reel Enterprises to advise it on the TV rights to the Olympic Games across Europe.
The company is run by David Kogan, a former Reuters and Granada executive.
The newspaper reports that although the Olympics is protected under UK legislation and can only be screened by a terrestrial broadcaster unless express permission is give by regulators, it heralds a new-found commercialism at the hear of the organization.
There is a chance the rights could go to the Freeview network, a rival of the BBC, for the first time if the digital terrestrial network has established itself as a main player by that time.
The BBC channels are carried on the Freeview network, but according to the Guardian, last week BskyB admitted it might launch an upmarket general entertainment channel for the network in the future.
And the newspaper says, with a predicted one billion pounds in cash flow to spare from 2007, Sky’s Channel 6 could be a real rival to BBC1 and ITV1.
Also, the value of the Games would skyrocket in the UK if London wins the bid for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games.
Reel Enterprises will carry out an analysis of the European market for Olympic TV rights and report back to the IOC.
The London-based firm will also be advising the IOC on whether it would be better to deal with the European Broadcasting Union or negotiate separately with the 55 European broadcasters it represents.
