Concerns from sports fans in Singapore about not being able to catch the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro live on television have been alleviated — Mediacorp managed to snag a last-minute deal with broadcasting rights holder Dentsu.
The Japanese communications company have had a will-they-won’t-they relationship with local broadcaster Mediacorp and pay-TV operators Singtel and Starhub — all of whom haven’t been able to properly agree on terms over the past couple of months. Dentsu holds the rights to broadcast the 2016 Olympics in Singapore and 16 other Asian territories — but issues like time differences, unattractive advertising timing and more caused difficulties in finalising deals.
In fact, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu backed the decision for delayed telecasts of the Olympic Games, stating that broadcasters have commercial reasons not to screen them live.
“…while Singaporeans are still very concerned and interested in the performance of our athletes, I’m sure many of them will try to catch up and watch the Games at a later time,” The Straits Times quoted her.
‘Twas a damper on the spirits of the sports fans in Singapore, who were more than willing to stay up till the wee hours of the morning to watch the Games live. Jose Raymond — the former senior communications director of Singapore Sports Hub — wrote a lengthy post on why it’s important to invest in a live broadcast for “a nation to unite, for bonds to be built within communities, and for a sports culture to be further enhanced”.
The calls have been heard, and with just a day to go before the Rio 2016 Olympic games, Mediacorp sealed the deal with Dentsu. Every day from Aug 6 to Aug 22, the games will be broadcast live on the okto channel and Toggle, their video streaming service.
“As a commercial company with a social purpose, we needed to balance the cost of acquiring live broadcast rights and the expectations of our audiences,” said Mediacorp Deputy CEO Chang Long Jong to Channel NewsAsia.
“The Olympic Games are close to the hearts of many, and audiences here can look forward to enjoying all the best moments, live, over the next two and a half weeks.”
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