IOC and USOC

Sources: USOC, IOC Agree In Principle To Revenue-Sharing Deal

Published May 23, 2012

IOC and USOC officials yesterday “agreed in principle on a new revenue-sharing deal that would end years of acrimony and clear the way for America to bid again for future games,” according to sources cited by Stephen Wilson of the AP. Two senior officials said that the IOC and USOC have “come to terms to resolve the long-running dispute over television and marketing revenues that has undermined recent American bids for the games.” The proposed agreement covers billions of dollars in revenues through '40 and is "contingent on the endorsement of the governing boards of both the IOC and USOC.” If both back the deal “as expected, it could be formally announced during IOC executive board meetings this week in Quebec City.” USOC Chair Larry Probst and CEO Scott Blackmun are “both coming to Quebec.” Terms of the proposed new agreement "have not been disclosed," but Wilson noted any new revenue percentage for the USOC "would go into effect after 2020.” The IOC has also “been pushing to secure millions of dollars in U.S. contributions toward the administrative costs of staging the Olympics, something which would happen right away as part of a new deal.” The USOC has said repeatedly that it "will not bid again until the revenue issue is resolved.” With the agreement, the USOC “could now study a possible bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics” (AP, 5/22).