Hong Kong buys 2020 Summer Olympics broadcast rights, will grant five local stations licences to carry Games for free
- Carrie Lam calls move a ‘one-off arrangement’, saying administration needed to step in once it was determined no local broadcaster was likely to score a deal
- The Games will be carried on TVB, ViuTV and Hong Kong Open TV, as well as paid channels Hong Kong Cable Television and NowTV
“It was a tough arrangement, with lots of online meetings and planning, and the deal was completed last Friday. This will only be a one-off arrangement.”
Lam refused to reveal how much the government was spending on the deal, which marks a major policy U-turn as successive administrations in the past have rejected public calls to bid for broadcasting rights for global sporting events such as the Fifa World Cup.
The city’s leader also visited the Hong Kong Sports Institute on Tuesday to learn how members of the fencing and badminton teams are preparing for the Games. She was given an update on a new building at the site, which is expected to be completed in five years’ time.
Until now officials had insisted they would not interfere with commercial decisions that should be left to private broadcasters, which would charge viewers for access to such events.