Three Hong Kong TV stations partner to broadcast Olympic Games

People in Hong Kong will be able to watch the London Olympics Games for free after rights holder i-Cable reached an agreement with free-to-air broadcasters ATV and TVB, South China Morning Post reported today. 

Viewers in Hong Kong will be able to watch at least 200 hours of Olympic broadcasts on free-to-air TV, according to the Standard. In the contract, TVB and ATV will pay i-Cable an undisclosed amount to buy 200 hours of Olympic events, including the opening and closing ceremonies. TVB and ATV will also cooperate to produce the Games package.


The contract between IOC and iCable indicates the broadcaster has to try to reach the widest possible audience if they want to hold the rights.

TVB, the biggest TV broadcaster in town, has more than 90 percent of the audience. TVB applied to IOC last week to show the Games.

After the talks between the three parties, TVB group general manager Mark Lee Po-on told SCMP: "We will pay a reasonable fee to iCable so that we could have 200 hours of programmes of our own choice, and they would be broadcast evenly on TVB and ATV. This is the commercial arrangement made today."

Lee also described the agreement as a “win” for the public and the broadcasters.

"Firstly, iCable can charge a reasonable fee. Secondly, both two free-to-air stations can now broadcast the Games evenly; and thirdly, the public can watch the Games. This is the best result. All the disputes before are now resolved," Lee said.

The concrete agreement will be announced by the three TV stations later, and they are expected to meet for further talks.

Image: The Standard