Coca-Cola and Emirates have both signed a broadcast sponsorship with Infront Sport & Media for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. Infront will integrate the respective branding into the TV feeds across 46 territories in Sub-Saharan Africa. As part of the program, Infront will integrate the brands within commercial breaks for all live, replay and highlight broadcasts over the 17 days as well as in the broadcast of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Olympic Games (Infront).
DANGEROUS GAME: A German gymnast has "blamed the sport's scoring system for making the sport increasingly 'dangerous' following two serious injuries on the opening day of the Rio Olympics." Fabian Hambuechen said that he "hoped the system will be changed following the Games after fellow German Andreas Toba fell while completing his floor routine and Frenchman Samir Ait Said suffered a horrific broken leg after a crash landing on the vault." A new "accumulative scoring system was brought in after the 2004 Olympics in Athens." The system has been criticized "for encouraging athletes to attempt more risky routines in pursuit of a higher difficulty score" (London TELEGRAPH, 8/7).
STRAY BULLET: A stray bullet "cut through the plastic roof of the equestrian media center on Saturday, alarming journalists and underlining concerns about the host city's ability to guarantee security at the world's biggest sporting event." No one "was injured in the incident." Rio 2016 Organizing Committee spokesperson Mario Andrada said that the equestrian venue "is sited next to a military complex, though police are still trying to discover who fired the bullet and from where." Andrada said, "It was a stray bullet and has nothing to do with the Games." Andrada added that security around the venue "had been increased as a precaution" (REUTERS, 8/7).
TELECOM INFRASTRUCTURE: The Rio Games will be "the first games where 4G networks are available -- one area where Rio is delivering on its Olympic promise." This is an opportunity for the city to "showcase its technological progress to visitors from around the world, while benefiting from the international exposure of visitors’ images and videos on social channels, helping boost tourism even after the games." Even with one in seven Olympic tickets yet to be sold, operators are expecting a 50% increase "in data traffic at the Rio games compared with London 2012." Handily, Rio benefits from having hosted the 2014 World Cup, and "the infrastructure that was put in place then." On top of this "there will be 8,600 free-to-access WiFi hotspots near key events, supported by some of the network operators and by corporate sponsors" (FINANCIAL TIMES, 8/5).
PAN-REGIONAL SPONSORS: ESPN unveiled its roster of major pan-regional sponsors for its coverage of the Rio Olympic Games. Gillette, Issey Miyake Parfums, Marriott and Samsung Electronics are among the brands that will be showcased across ESPN networks throughout Latin America and the Caribbean during its more than 2,800 hours. In addition, local advertisers will be featured in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and Central America (ESPN).
OLYMPIC BRIEFS ...
The BBC is to "offer key events during the Rio Olympics in the virtual reality format." It is launching BBC Sport 360, an "experimental service designed to give viewers a new perspective, through coverage of a range of live sports, including the opening and closing ceremonies, athletics, beach volleyball and boxing." The BBC Sport 360 service started last Friday through a "dedicated BBC Sport 360 trial app, available from Thursday on Android, iOS and Samsung Gear VR" (BROADBAND TV NEWS, 8/4).
Korea held "various cultural events on Copacabana Beach on Saturday to promote the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics." Korea has been "working to boost the profile of its alpine city of PyeongChang." Hundreds of people watched a cultural performance "that featured B-boy dancing, a demonstration of the traditional Korean martial art of taekwondo and Nanta, a long-running Korean non-verbal show" (YONHAP, 8/7).
Two Australian Olympic rowing coaches were "mugged and had eight-inch knives held to their throats on the night of the opening ceremony of the Rio Olympic Games." The coaches, who have been "seriously shaken by the attack, have not been named by the Australian Olympic Committee." The two were "walking back to separate team accommodation after celebrating the opening ceremony with the rowing team" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 8/8).
