Olympic Notes
 |
Rogge Says Beijing Olympics Will Play
Part In Whether He Seeks To Extend Term |
IOC President Jacques Rogge said that a "decision on seeking an extension of his term in 2009 depends on what happens during the Beijing Olympics." Rogge: "Beijing is a criterion whether or not I stand again." Under IOC rules, Rogge, who was elected to the position in '01, can "serve an additional four years after an initial eight-year term." Rogge said that "there are other factors that will enter his ultimate decision." Rogge: "Do I have something to the Olympic values? Yes. The anti-doping fight has been intensified by the IOC. Do we have a handle on the inflation of sports? Yes, we have. The number of participating athletes, we have also limited to 10,500. Financially, the IOC is very good." Rogge added, "I feel very good and healthy." Rogge said that German IOC member Thomas Bach "has the qualities needed" to be IOC President (AROUNDTHERINGS.com, 7/21).
WEAVING A WEB: HOLLYWOOD REPORTER's Jonathan Landreth reports Limelight Networks for the Beijing Games will make "as many as 2,200 hours of video available" on the Internet for Olympics rights holders, including NBC, the BBC and CCTV, and fans "will be able to access as many as 20 live Olympic events at once." Limelight co-Founder Mike Gordon: "You'll be able to watch four events simultaneously." Limelight will not go to Beijing, but "its teams will work closely with NBC" in N.Y. and Redmond, Washington, where MSNBC will "help package the streams -- making editorial choices and adding advertisements" (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 7/22).
PLANNING AHEAD: CBC Sports Exec Dir Scott Moore said that the CBC has "not sold 90[%] of its ad inventory" like NBC has, but he added the net is "close to reaching its sales target." Moore: "We're actually in a better position than many world broadcasters, mainly because (the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games) sponsors want to start their Olympic campaigns with us. As a percentage of target, we're well above 90[%]" (GLOBE & MAIL, 7/22).
BACKGROUND CHECKS: In China, Tom Miller reported Beijing authorities are "secretly planning to ban black people and others it considers social undesirables from entering the city's bars during the Olympic Games." Bar owners near Beijing's Workers' Stadium said that they "have been forced by Public Security Bureau officials to sign pledges agreeing not to let black people enter their premises." The bar owners indicated that local authorities "have been cracking down on blacks and Mongolians in an attempt to stamp out drug dealing and prostitution ahead of the Games." A bar owner also said the officials "told me to inform my customers that they must at all times carry their passports or ID cards" (SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST, 7/18).
|
