Mexican telecom group America Movil, controlled by Carlos Slim, announced it has been awarded the exclusive rights to next year's Winter Games in Sochi and the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro on media platforms across Latin America, according to UNIVISION. The agreement does not include the rights for Brazil (UNIVISION, 3/22). CNN MEXICO reported IOC President Jacques Rogge was pleased with the deal. Rogge said, "In 2016 the Olympic Games in Rio will be a significant moment in Olympic history, and we are very pleased to have reached this important agreement to ensure fans across the continent are able to have the best broadcast experience of the games" (CNN MEXICO, 3/21).
FIRST TIME: The AP reported it is the first time the IOC has granted rights to America Movil. The rights to the Rio Games were "in high demand because they will be the first Olympics held in South America." The negotiations with America Movil were led by IOC finance commission Chair Richard Carrion of Puerto Rico. Slim's son-in-law and spokesperson Arturo Elias Ayub told Mexican newspaper La Reforma that the deal gives America Movil the "possibility of re-selling the rights in Latin America" and of broadcasting the games on a new TV channel in Mexico if Slim's Telmex company gets the rights to it once a new telecommunications reform is signed into law. Experts said that securing the Olympic rights allows Slim to expand its presence in Latin America's TV industry but more important, "it shows his business model's aim is to offer convergence services, which integrate the dissemination of voice, data, sound or pictures through a single network" (AP, 3/22).
