Italy gets the Broadcast rights to 2010 and 2012

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) today announced an agreement with SKY Italia for the broadcast rights within Italy for the Vancouver 2010 and London 2012 Olympic Games.
 
SKY Italia, Italy’s leading digital satellite television network, acquired the rights across all broadcast platforms, including free-to-air television, subscription television, internet and mobile phone.
 
SKY Italia will be responsible for ensuring the broadest possible audience is able to access the Olympic Games across all of these platforms, including a guaranteed continuation of free-to-air television coverage. To achieve this commitment, SKY Italia will shortly begin seeking a partnership with a free-to-air network in Italy.
 
Commenting on the agreement, IOC President Jacques Rogge said: “We are delighted to have reached an agreement with SKY Italia who made a commitment to us that will allow not only increased coverage of the Olympic Games, but also an exciting promotion of Olympic sports and Olympic values in Italy.”
 
IOC Vice-President Thomas Bach, who led the negotiations, said: “This is a fantastic deal for the IOC and the Olympic Movement as a whole. SKY Italia demonstrated an unrivalled commitment to the Olympic Games and the Olympic values that will allow sports fans in Italy the chance to see more Olympic sport than ever before, not only on SKY Italia’s exciting subscription channel platforms, but also on a full range of digital media outlets and on free-to-air television.”
 
Tom Mockridge, CEO of SKY Italia said: “We are very proud of this deal that shows our constant commitment to offer more quality and choice to our subscribers, and we are grateful to the IOC for having chosen Sky Italia as a partner. As we did for the last football World Cup in Germany, SKY Italia will grant unprecedented coverage of the Olympic Games in Vancouver and London, offering our subscribers the possibility to view all the events in a unique and exciting way. We will do our utmost to interpret the spirit of the Olympic Games that makes this event so extraordinary, leading up to the Games, during the event itself and outside Games time. We share with the IOC the will and commitment to make the Olympic Games available on all platforms, granting Italians the possibility to view on free-to-air television comparable amounts of coverage to previous Olympic Games. We will immediately start discussions to identify the best free-to-air network partner to proceed with this project.”