ARD, ZDF resume Olympics sublicensing talks

Talks have resumed over a possible sublicensing rights deal for the Olympic Games between media company Discovery Communications and German state broadcasters ARD and ZDF, according to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper.

Negotiations are focusing on the 2018 winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, but will make a possible deal over future editions of the Games more likely, the report said.

Talks over a sublicensing deal broke down in November 2016, with ARD and ZDF saying they had failed to secure an agreement with Discovery, which has rights for the Games across the majority of European territories, including Germany, from 2018 to 2024.

ZDF told the newspaper it was in contact with Discovery, without elaborating.

Susanne Aigner-Drews, the head of Discovery’s business in Germany, said: “Discovery has always emphasised that it is our desire to cooperate with partners that value the Olympic Games."

Last year Manager Magazin in Germany said talks had broken down due to a discrepancy between Discovery’s asking price of at least €150m ($173m) for the 2018 and 2020 Games, and the amount ARD and ZDF was willing to pay.