The CBC securing the TV rights for the '14 Sochi and '16 Rio de Janeiro
Games has "set off speculation in the industry about how the embattled
public broadcaster can afford to mount the Games at a price that
Canadian private broadcasters said would not work for them," according
to Dowbiggin & Chase of the GLOBE & MAIL. CBC Exec VP/English
Services Kirstine Stewart has promised that the net "will break even or
make a small profit as the Games return to CBC for the first time since
2008." But advertising revenues for Sochi are "expected to be modest due
to the nine-hour time difference between the Russian city and the east
coast of North America." Rio de Janeiro is in the Eastern time zone, but
it will "still require considerable production costs." The CBC
maintains that it can "generate more revenue with an Olympics telecast
than it might with its usual broadcasting." Also, a "key factor" for the
CBC is the ability "to place Olympic programming on its other networks
such as CBC Bold and CBC News Network." The cable and satellite industry
is "moving toward more choice for consumers," and having the Olympic
rights creates a "strong incentive for viewers to pay the fee for
channels once they are no longer compulsory." The Games also will allow
the CBC to "drive viewership to the official Olympic site and to its
streaming services, which are not getting as much attention when
competition has the Games" (GLOBE & MAIL, 8/3).
