Youku snaps up internet media rights to Olympics

Alibaba’s wholly-owned video platform Youku announced yesterday (August 1) that it has acquired the internet media rights to the 2016 Rio Olympics.

This news follows Tencent’s announcement of acquiring similar rights, distributed by CCTV 5, the media rights holder of the Rio Olympics in China.

In the year 2012, the International Olympic Committee sold the TV rights in China for the 2014 and 2016 Olympics to CCTV for an estimated $160 million.

Though the financial terms of the deals have not been disclosed, it is thought to be worth RMB100 million (about US$15.07m) each.

It is reported that Youku will launch a bespoke channel “Cheers, Rio!” as part of its partnership with Alisports. This channel, together with its title sponsor Snow Beer, is set to provide fans in China with the 17-day Olympic Games through its online channels. Viewers in China will have access to delayed broadcasts of 938 events

Source: Youku

Proofread by Sean O Diobhilin