Incumbent US Olympic rights holder NBC, Fox and ABC/ESPN are among those in the running to snap up the contract, which is likely to be the most lucrative in the history of the Games. The IOC had delayed awarding the US rights for more than a year due to the slump in the advertising market.
“I suspect we will have a deal in place by (the IOC session in July) in Durban,” Carrion told Reuters. “Our goal is hopefully to have it by then. We are currently in the process of reviewing the contract, updating the contract from 2010-12.”
The 2010-12 US Olympic broadcast contract with NBC is worth a total of about US$2 billion, but Carrion claimed that for the new deal “we will see an increase”. However, it has not been decided yet whether the agreement will cover one Olympic cycle or two, stretching to 2020.
“We are still open to the idea (of a four-Games deal),” Carrion added. “We will listen to their proposals, but it is not something that we are going to demand from them.”
Carrion has also been suggested as a possible replacement for IOC president Jacques Rogge, who will step down in two years’ time after two terms at the helm. “Let's just wait,” Carrion said. “I am very honoured (to be linked with a presidency bid) but let us just wait.”
