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IOC Approves Multiple Olympic Cities, Olympic TV Channel and Other Rule Changes


rkolsen

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I heard on Nightly News that the International Olympic Committee changed several of their rules. The biggest change is allowing Olympic hosts to stage events in other cities or countries. The IOC decided to change the rules because of the six finalists bidding for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games four dropped out of the race due to financial concerns. The remaining contenders for the 2022 games are Almaty, Kazakhstan and Beijing, China. I'm thinking Beijing will get the games.

 

With the new rule change the IOC is asking to move the bobsled and luge events from Pyeongchang, South Korea to Nagano, Japan or another country for the 2018 Winter Olympics in an attempt to save money.

 

According to the Wall Street Journal the head of the 2018 South Korean organizing committee media team said "everything will go as planned" and that it does “not make any sense in terms of public sentiment." YTN news, a local cable channel, reports that this came "out of the blue" where it confused some residents. Yonhap, the state news agency, said that some Pyeongchang residents would boycott the games and stage protests against the government if such a proposal would go through. The WSJ noted that South Korea is still in territorial disputes and has other historical issues with Japan.

 

The IOC also removed the hard cap of 28 sports instead moving to an events based system where there would be a maximum of 310 medal events and 10,500 participants for summer games and 100 medal events and 2,900 participants for winter games. For example instead of having track and field as a sport, the long jump and 400 meter dash would each be a medal event.

 

There are plans of launching an over the top (streaming) Olympic television channel modeled after National Geographic channel to promote olympic sports, raise engage young viewers and hardcore fans. The television channel will consist of news, event footage, archive footage, test events, the lighting of the Olympic torch/torch relay and live events that necessarily don't get a lot of coverage. Per Australia's Olympic Committee the production of live events will be produced mainly by the local countries rights holder, in their case Seven Network. The channel will initially be funded by the current broadcast rights and sponsorship. Olympic Broadcast Services based out of Madrid, Spain will operate the channel. Specifically it will cost $600 million for the first seven years and should break even in 10 years. Variety magazine states that the channel will compliment Universal Sports, owned by NBCUniversal and InterMedia Partners, which currently has live TV rights to 29 championship events in 2015.

 

Rules were also changed to promote equality for all. The committee will work with indivisible countries olympic federations to reach 50% female participation and will encourage mixed gender events. In addition they changed article six in their olympic charter for non discrimination in response to outcry and protests during the Sochi winter games after Russia passed a anti gay "propaganda" law. Article six now states that the games should be free from "of any kind, such as race, color, sex, sexual orientation, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.

 

Sources:

 

http://blogs.wsj.com/korearealtime/2014/12/08/2018-winter-olympics-organizers-stand-firm-on-korean-venues/

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2014/12/07/guide-to-ioc-president-thomas-bachs-reform-plans/20047473/

http://variety.com/2014/digital/news/ioc-to-launch-year-round-olympics-internet-tv-channel-1201374451/

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/cfe3c9672f4f48b9a7741569c3d362c0/ioc-approves-new-olympic-bidding-process

http://www.foxsports.com/olympics/story/international-olympic-committee-approves-revised-bid-process-flexible-sports-could-allow-inclusion-baseball-softball-120814

http://www.voanews.com/content/reu-ioc-eases-rules-for-cities-bidding-for-olympic-games/2550146.html

http://corporate.olympics.com.au/news/olympic-television-channel-gets-the-green-light

 

 

---

My Take

 

I think the IOC's proposal to move events to Nagano, Japan came a little late of the game for the 2018 Olympics is shitty. I don't know if they started construction of any of the venues but if the IOC does approve/require this change it could throw things out of order logistically. Just think of all the things that will have to be changed/ included such as the layout of the Olympic villages, the transportation of athletes from Pyeongchang to Nagano or wherever else, the housing of the athletes, the construction of another broadcast center, the additional staff that will be needed to operate the broadcast centre and finally modifying/updating the twenty year old facility in Nagano.

 

To me this seems like gutting the very detailed playbook that Pyeongchang spent a lot of money to create. Olympic bids can costs tens of millions of dollars just for a chance to be chosen by their countries olympic committee which then submits the bid to the IOC. For example the Boston bid committee spent $1.5 million to build a very detailed 3D computer model of their city and it's proposed olympic venues (why couldn't they have started with Google Earth and gone from there is beyond me.)

 

Then there is an issue of national pride that's I would feel that at least part of would be lost. Here the people of Pyeonchang and all of South Korea were thinking that their city, their nation nation would be on display for the world to see and to show the very best of their nation. To have part of their showcase to the world to possibly be taken away must be a difficult pill to swallow when 79% of South Koreans have a mainly negative view of Japan according to a BBC World Service Country Ratings poll. For the record hold a favorable view of both countries.

 

Now for countries and cities waiting to submit a bid for future games I think the prospect of holding different events in different cities would be a good idea simply from a cost stand point - where the games are spread out and one entity isn't left with the bill. Olympic Games typically cost tens of billions of dollars. For example the summer games London cost $14.8 billion in 2012, Beijing cost $40 billion in 2008 but the 2014 winter games in Sochi were the most expensive Olympics ever at $50 billion. A good deal of the expense will be turned into infrastructure such as building new roads, rail lines and housing (which are usually turned into apartments after the games) all of which will benefit the community long after the games end. But a lot of the facilities aren't used after the games'and the ones that succeed are more likely multipurpose venues such as turning the soccer stadium in to a football stadium. Just imagine if every stadium in the North East Corridor were updated or replaced.

 

One hiccup of hosting the games related to this forum would be the lack is related to broadcasting. Not a lot of broadcasters can afford to have/transport their own crews in every city especially if the games are spread out over a large area, which could effect their own coverage. The broadcasters would rely more so on the host feed leaving some areas uncovered and unable to get the local angle or first interview. From what I've read most countries aren't like NBC which sent 1,000 to Sochi and 2,700 to London as a comparison the BBC only had 95 in Sochi and 765 in London, which is their own backyard.

 

As for the change for 310 events this could reopen the door to American classics such baseball and softball. In addition on Nightly News it could include newer sports such as skateboarding and surfing. The only thing about holding a surfing competition how do you make sure everyone is on equal footing when all the waves are different?

 

The Olympic OTT television channel sounds like a great idea to leverage the vast archive of the games which are really never shown once the games have ended. If any content is shown again it's usually at the next Olympics when a star athlete is being interviewed. One aspect that I like about the channel is that they plan on showing events that aren't broadcast traditionally on television like rowing, volley ball or curling. I only hope that it does not require cable authorization otherwise it could cut off a lot of viewers.

 

I am also glad that they are working to be more inclusive of others and quite frankly it's about time.

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I heard on Nightly News that the International Olympic Committee changed several of their rules. The biggest change is allowing Olympic hosts to stage events in other cities or countries. The IOC decided to change the rules because of the six finalists bidding for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games four dropped out of the race due to financial concerns. The remaining contenders for the 2022 games are Almaty, Kazakhstan and Beijing, China. I'm thinking Beijing will get the games.

 

With the new rule change the IOC is asking to move the bobsled and luge events from Pyeongchang, South Korea to Nagano, Japan or another country for the 2018 Winter Olympics in an attempt to save money.

 

According to the Wall Street Journal the head of the 2018 South Korean organizing committee media team said "everything will go as planned" and that it does “not make any sense in terms of public sentiment." YTN news, a local cable channel, reports that this came "out of the blue" where it confused some residents. Yonhap, the state news agency, said that some Pyeongchang residents would boycott the games and stage protests against the government if such a proposal would go through. The WSJ noted that South Korea is still in territorial disputes and has other historical issues with Japan.

 

The IOC also removed the hard cap of 28 sports instead moving to an events based system where there would be a maximum of 310 medal events and 10,500 participants for summer games and 100 medal events and 2,900 participants for winter games. For example instead of having track and field as a sport, the long jump and 400 meter dash would each be a medal event.

 

There are plans of launching an over the top (streaming) Olympic television channel modeled after National Geographic channel to promote olympic sports, raise engage young viewers and hardcore fans. The television channel will consist of news, event footage, archive footage, test events, the lighting of the Olympic torch/torch relay and live events that necessarily don't get a lot of coverage. Per Australia's Olympic Committee the production of live events will be produced mainly by the local countries rights holder, in their case Seven Network. The channel will initially be funded by the current broadcast rights and sponsorship. Olympic Broadcast Services based out of Madrid, Spain will operate the channel. Specifically it will cost $600 million for the first seven years and should break even in 10 years. Variety magazine states that the channel will compliment Universal Sports, owned by NBCUniversal and InterMedia Partners, which currently has live TV rights to 29 championship events in 2015.

 

Rules were also changed to promote equality for all. The committee will work with indivisible countries olympic federations to reach 50% female participation and will encourage mixed gender events. In addition they changed article six in their olympic charter for non discrimination in response to outcry and protests during the Sochi winter games after Russia passed a anti gay "propaganda" law. Article six now states that the games should be free from "of any kind, such as race, color, sex, sexual orientation, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.

 

Sources:

 

http://blogs.wsj.com/korearealtime/2014/12/08/2018-winter-olympics-organizers-stand-firm-on-korean-venues/

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2014/12/07/guide-to-ioc-president-thomas-bachs-reform-plans/20047473/

http://variety.com/2014/digital/news/ioc-to-launch-year-round-olympics-internet-tv-channel-1201374451/

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/cfe3c9672f4f48b9a7741569c3d362c0/ioc-approves-new-olympic-bidding-process

http://www.foxsports.com/olympics/story/international-olympic-committee-approves-revised-bid-process-flexible-sports-could-allow-inclusion-baseball-softball-120814

http://www.voanews.com/content/reu-ioc-eases-rules-for-cities-bidding-for-olympic-games/2550146.html

http://corporate.olympics.com.au/news/olympic-television-channel-gets-the-green-light

 

 

---

My Take

 

I think the IOC's proposal to move events to Nagano, Japan came a little late of the game for the 2018 Olympics is shitty. I don't know if they started construction of any of the venues but if the IOC does approve/require this change it could throw things out of order logistically. Just think of all the things that will have to be changed/ included such as the layout of the Olympic villages, the transportation of athletes from Pyeongchang to Nagano or wherever else, the housing of the athletes, the construction of another broadcast center, the additional staff that will be needed to operate the broadcast centre and finally modifying/updating the twenty year old facility in Nagano.

 

To me this seems like gutting the very detailed playbook that Pyeongchang spent a lot of money to create. Olympic bids can costs tens of millions of dollars just for a chance to be chosen by their countries olympic committee which then submits the bid to the IOC. For example the Boston bid committee spent $1.5 million to build a very detailed 3D computer model of their city and it's proposed olympic venues (why couldn't they have started with Google Earth and gone from there is beyond me.)

 

Then there is an issue of national pride that's I would feel that at least part of would be lost. Here the people of Pyeonchang and all of South Korea were thinking that their city, their nation nation would be on display for the world to see and to show the very best of their nation. To have part of their showcase to the world to possibly be taken away must be a difficult pill to swallow when 79% of South Koreans have a mainly negative view of Japan according to a BBC World Service Country Ratings poll. For the record hold a favorable view of both countries.

 

Now for countries and cities waiting to submit a bid for future games I think the prospect of holding different events in different cities would be a good idea simply from a cost stand point - where the games are spread out and one entity isn't left with the bill. Olympic Games typically cost tens of billions of dollars. For example the summer games London cost $14.8 billion in 2012, Beijing cost $40 billion in 2008 but the 2014 winter games in Sochi were the most expensive Olympics ever at $50 billion. A good deal of the expense will be turned into infrastructure such as building new roads, rail lines and housing (which are usually turned into apartments after the games) all of which will benefit the community long after the games end. But a lot of the facilities aren't used after the games'and the ones that succeed are more likely multipurpose venues such as turning the soccer stadium in to a football stadium. Just imagine if every stadium in the North East Corridor were updated or replaced.

 

One hiccup of hosting the games related to this forum would be the lack is related to broadcasting. Not a lot of broadcasters can afford to have/transport their own crews in every city especially if the games are spread out over a large area, which could effect their own coverage. The broadcasters would rely more so on the host feed leaving some areas uncovered and unable to get the local angle or first interview. From what I've read most countries aren't like NBC which sent 1,000 to Sochi and 2,700 to London as a comparison the BBC only had 95 in Sochi and 765 in London, which is their own backyard.

 

As for the change for 310 events this could reopen the door to American classics such baseball and softball. In addition on Nightly News it could include newer sports such as skateboarding and surfing. The only thing about holding a surfing competition how do you make sure everyone is on equal footing when all the waves are different?

 

The Olympic OTT television channel sounds like a great idea to leverage the vast archive of the games which are really never shown once the games have ended. If any content is shown again it's usually at the next Olympics when a star athlete is being interviewed. One aspect that I like about the channel is that they plan on showing events that aren't broadcast traditionally on television like rowing, volley ball or curling. I only hope that it does not require cable authorization otherwise it could cut off a lot of viewers.

 

I am also glad that they are working to be more inclusive of others and quite frankly it's about time.

 

Joint bids will only be considered/allowed "under extreme circumstances" according to the IOC. So this does not mean that every joint bid that comes in will get approved. The host will have to prove that the cost to host the olympic games is too much for that country to shoulder on its own. That being said, the IOC had no choice but to make these decisions albeit of their own fault. They themselves created this problem because they put money, greed and power ahead of showcasing each country and their athletes.

 

Now this joint bid decision did not just come up out of thin air. A few years back, then San Diego Mayor Bob Filner actually had proposed a joint San Diego/Tijuana olympic bid, but the IOC quickly shot that proposal down saying that it was against their rules for the olympic games to be held in two countries.

 

I do think that down the line (once they get better financially), that a joint Madrid/Barcelona Olympic bid would be a pretty interesting concept. It's certainly a lot easier for two cities in the same country to do a joint bid as opposed to two different countries.

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I would seriously welcome a 24/7 Olympic channel. I like Universal Sports, but it doesn't give me that much hype as the Olympics would be on-air. I get that Universal Sports broadcast Olympic-related sports, but I rather see Olympic coverage, than all those practices and tests because at least the Olympic coverage gets me hyped up. And I'm already pumped for the 2016 Summer Olympics on TV.

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