U.S. NGBs Send USOC A Letter Questioning Olympic Network Plans

Gilbert In Letter To USOC Suggests NGBs Are Skeptical Of Olympic Net

U.S. national governing bodies have "jumped into the dustup over the proposed" U.S. Olympic Network (USON), sending USOC execs a letter "with 19 pointed questions regarding the organization's plans for the network," according to Mickle & Ourand of SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL. The letter from National Governing Body Association Chair Skip Gilbert "clearly suggests that the NGBs are skeptical of the planned channel launch, and includes questions that range from why network partner Comcast didn't participate on a conference call announcing the network to why the NGBs weren't consulted about the concept." The letter "highlights the NGBs' frustration over the USOC's lack of communication and transparency as it developed its channel plans." Some of the larger NGBs are "wary of being caught in the middle of a dispute between" NBC and the USOC, while smaller NGBs are "concerned that the channel will be too costly to operate, especially since they rely on USOC funding to underwrite their operations." Mickle & Ourand note the number and tenor of the questions "likely came as a surprise to the USOC," which "responded to the letter privately." USOC acting CEO Stephanie Streeter has had "several conversations with NGB executives, including Gilbert," but it is unclear what the tenor of those discussion[s] has been" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 8/3 issue). Among the questions in Gilbert's letter are, "What are the conditions for Comcast's continued investment in the USON? ... What strategic process was followed to ensure that the ROI on this network would be greater than investing the money into individual NGBs and our athletes? How much money has been spent (outside of staff salaries) to date on this project? ... How does the USOC justify this financial risk when it has a number of NGBs that desperately need operational funding?" (THE DAILY).

THE FINE PRINT: SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL's Mickle & Ourand cite sources as saying that the USOC "needs to sign two more big cable or satellite operators to carriage deals if it wants to launch" the USON, as a "clause in the committee's Comcast deal says that the cable giant will not launch the U.S. Olympic Network until it hits the 17 million to 20 million distribution mark." When the channel launches, it will be "free to cable and satellite providers for the first couple of years," and "eventually, it will begin to charge a small license fee." Sources expect that initially the channel will "look like a 'classic' Olympics channel, relying mainly on archive footage of past Olympics," as the USOC "gets control of all TV rights one year after the [Vancouver] Games end." The USON also is "looking into offering sponsored segments" (SBJ, 8/3 issue).