Tunis, June 18, 2009 – The Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU) has reached an agreement with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to acquire the broadcasting rights in the Middle East and North Africa for the 2014 Winter Games, to be held July 7-23 in Russia’s Sochi, and the 2016 Summer Games. ASBU had already acquired broadcasting rights for the 2012 London Games.

ASBU, an IOC broadcast partner since 1976, acquired the rights across all broadcast platforms, including free-to-air television, subscription TV, internet and mobile phone for all 20 member countries: Algeria, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

ASBU and its members have committed to a minimum of 200 hours’ exposure for the Olympic Games in 2016 and to a daily 52-minute highlights program at prime time for the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games on terrestrial, over-the-air television.

Speaking about the agreement, ASBU Director General, Slaheddine Maaoui, said: “We highly commend and value this great achievement, which will further enhance our successful partnership with the IOC and will allow us to contribute to maintain the universal character of the Games and, in particular, to be accessible to the widest possible television audiences free of charge. We extend our warmest thanks to the IOC team for the frank and productive discussions that led to this deal and we pledge our commitment to work for the widest exposure of the Olympic Games in the ASBU region and for the enhancement of the Olympic values”.

IOC President Jacques Rogge said: “The ASBU has been the IOC’s broadcast partner in the region since 1976 and has shown a great commitment to the Olympic Games and the Olympic Movement. We are delighted to be able to extend our partnership with it for a further four years”.
 
Commenting on the deal, IOC Executive Board member Richard Carrión, who led the negotiations said: “This agreement will ensure Olympic fans across the region will be able to see the Olympic Games on a media platform of their choice. We look forward to continuing our successful relationship with the ASBU.”