Faster, Higher, Stronger | 2020 Olympics: Hong Kong’s government must step in if we want to watch Tokyo Games on television
- Government should not use taxpayers’ money, but must encourage Hong Kong’s business sector to step in and pay the broadcasting rights fee for the Tokyo Olympics
- With less than three months left, the IOC asking price of US$70 million scares off local television networks
Despite being pushed back for a year due to the global pandemic outbreak, this summer’s Tokyo Games are poised to have the most genuine medal hopes for Hong Kong since its debut at the 1952 Helsinki Games, with the likes of track cyclist Sarah Lee Wai-sze, swimmer Siobhan Haughey, fencer Vivian Kong Man-wai and karate exponent Grace Lau Mo-sheung all expected to be close to the podium.
Already, the pandemic has robbed Hong Kong spectators of the opportunity to travel to the Japanese capital after Tokyo Games organisers decided to ban overseas visitors for safety reasons, meaning there won’t be any “home” supporters cheering on Hong Kong’s athletes.
While travelling to Tokyo to watch the Games has become an impossible dream for Hongkongers, it now seems there is little chance for fans to watch their Olympians on television as, so far, no Hong Kong broadcaster has secured the rights to screen the Tokyo Games. Remember, the Games opening ceremony will take place at the Tokyo Olympic Stadium in just 88 days.
But why does nobody seem to be interested in broadcasting the sporting extravaganza with such great medal chances for Hong Kong? The answer is very simple: the cost is prohibitively high for any commercial TV stations in the SAR.
Through its agent, the International Olympic Committee has asked for a staggering fee of US$70 million (HK$543.4 million) for any Hong Kong broadcaster to cover two consecutive summer games, the upcoming one in Tokyo and the next one in Paris.
The figure is far beyond what any commercial TV operator in Hong Kong could afford to pay in consideration of profit made by such broadcasting.
TVB bought the exclusive rights to the 2016 Rio Olympic Games at a cost of US$21 million after losing the bid to Cable TV eight years ago for the London Olympics. In the end, the broadcaster suffered losses of HK$150 million after spending a further HK$40 million on the production of Olympic programmes. TVB is the most successful TV network in Hong Kong in terms of generating commercial income.