Media News - Monday, July 21, 2008

TV networks fight shorter Olympic leash

For several years now the American network NBC has meticulously planned all the details for its coverage of the many sports events at the Summer Olympics in China. But with the Games only 19 days away, many at the network are concerned about how they will permitted to cover any unscheduled events, like political protests or government crackdowns - or whether the Chinese government will allow them to cover such things at all. The stakes are high for both the network, which paid $900 million for broadcast rights for the Olympics, and the reputation of NBC News. Broadcasters have been at odds with Chinese authorities over what, where and when they will be allowed to film. Seeking to defuse growing tension, network executives met face to face two weeks ago with representatives of the International Olympic Committee and Chinese officials. At an eight-hour meeting in the International Broadcast Center in Beijing, the Chinese organizing committee relented slightly, saying that broadcasters like NBC that have paid for rights to the Olympic Games may transmit live from Tiananmen Square - but for only six hours a day, from 06:00 to 10:00 and 21:00 to 23:00. The broadcasters, which include the BBC in Britain, the CBC in Canada, the Seven Network in Australia and SABC in South Africa, unanimously pressed for further access, according to minutes of the meeting obtained by The New York Times. According to two people at the meeting, when the Beijing vice mayor, Cao Fuchao, remarked that his country's authorities would not reverse their decision to restrict access, Alex Gilady, an IOC commissioner and NBC vice president, said: "We still have one month to go. We will pursue this to the end." (IHT)

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