Malaysian broadcasters that had submitted a joint bid "have lost out on securing the rights" to the 2016 Rio Olympics and "are now scrambling to negotiate with Japanese advertising firm Dentsu Inc," according to B.K. Sidhu of THE STAR. The Malaysian parties had submitted their bid via Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU), a non-profit, non-government, professional association of broadcasting organizations. Sources said that ABU’s bid "was priced at somewhere close to 10 times what Malaysian parties had paid for the last Olympics content." Despite the high bid, "they had failed, indicating that Dentsu had probably paid a higher price." Sources said that "almost all local broadcasters, both free-to-air stations and pay-TV players, were in discussions with Dentsu" on buying the 2016 Rio Olympics rights, although "it was unclear at what stage the negotiations were." There "is talk" that the Malaysian players "may seek to team up as one party -- in a similar way that they did with ABU -- in negotiating with the Japanese." Sources said these included RTM, Media Prima Group and Astro Holdings Bhd. The sources added that other players like Telekom Malaysia Bhd and new pay-TV operator Asian Broadcasting Network "might also join in" (THE STAR, 11/5).
