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TV3 Ireland mulls Olympics bid

Ireland’s TV3 is reportedly considering a bid to challenge local pubcaster RTÉ for free-to-air rights to the Olympic Games.

The BBC aired 2,500 hours of London 2012 coverage in the UK

The BBC aired 2,500 hours of London 2012 coverage in the UK

Discovery-owned Eurosport recently bought the rights to the summer and winter games between 2018 and 2024 in a deal worth €1.3bn (US$1.45bn).

But under the agreement, Eurosport promised to make a minimum 200 hours of the action available free-to-air (100 hours of the Winter Olympics), in accordance with the Games’ listed status in many European nations.

TV3, which was recently bought out by Liberty Global-owned UPC Ireland for €87m, has now said it would be interested in taking Irish rights.

“Obviously there has been a lot of talk about the Olympics moving to a pan-European broadcaster rather that the current deal the International Olympic Committee have with the European Broadcasting Union [EBU],” Kieran Holden, TV3’s head of sport, told the Irish Examiner.

“That could open up opportunities for us with the sub-licensing of events, something that we have not had the chance to do before because of the way the rights were sold by the EBU.

“We are interested in all sports rights if they are of interest to an Irish audience and are commercially viable.”

Eurosport’s move came as a blow not just to RTÉ in Ireland, which has been the traditional home for the Games, but also to other public broadcasters across Europe.

Discovery previously said it would be negotiating partnerships and sub-licences with other FTA broadcasters for some coverage.

In the UK, the BBC holds exclusive rights to the next two summer games, after which Eurosport will take over as the main broadcaster. The Olympics is listed as a Category A event by media regulator Ofcom, which means at least 200 hours must be made available FTA. The BBC aired 2,500 hours of London 2012 coverage out of the 5,600 available to broadcasters.

TV3, recently predicted to merge with struggling Irish broadcaster UTV, also has the Irish rights to the forthcoming Rugby World Cup and Champions League football.

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