CBC wins rights to 2014, 2016 Olympic Games

CBC/Radio-Canada has won the Canadian media rights for the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, and the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro.

"We thought it was very important for the national public broadcaster whose strategy is signature events," CBC president Hubert Lacroix said. "And there's nothing more significant, more signature and more of an event that brings Canadians together."

Speaking in London, England with CBC's Heather Hiscox, Lacroix said he couldn't comment on the costs but the deal was based on a "very financially and fiscally responsible bid."

CBC has broadcast the Olympicson 19 different occasions, dating back almost 60 years,most recently during the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing.

"CBC/Radio-Canada has been an unwavering champion of amateur sport and our nation's best athletes," said Marcel Aubut, president of the Canadian Olympic Committee Wednesday. "They have unparalleled experience in broadcasting major multi-sport events, most notably the Olympic Games."

The deal comes more than a month after CBC and Bell Media announced they would no longer submit joint bids for the Canadian media rights for the Games.

After forming a partnership last September, the two media organizations submitted two joint bids for the package but both were rejected by the International Olympic Committee.

Kirstine Stewart, executive vice-president of CBC's English Services, called the deal "a great homecoming" for the public broadcaster.

"Weve made sure that the deal we put together in front of the IOC was one that was balanced in a way that should be cost-neutral at the end of the day," she said.

The deal covers all platforms and includes sub-licensing rights, Stewart said.

"Well now go out and find partners, like we have in the past" with major international sporting events, she said.

Canada's Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium, made up of a partnership between Bell Media and Rogers Communications, had the broadcast rights for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics and currently have the rights for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The new deal will not affect upcoming negotiations between the CBC and the NHL over media rights, Stewart said.

"If anything, it shows that we have a really active sports department," she said.

Henry Storgaard, chief executive officer of the Canadian Paralympic Committee, said the group looks forward to renewing its relationship with the CBC.

"CBC/Radio-Canada has a strong history of supporting Canada's amateur sport athletes and the Paralympic movement, most recently through their broadcast of both Athletics and Para-Athletics events last month at the Canadian Track and Field Championships in Calgary," hesaid in a statement released by the CPC.

"We look forward to working with them to help tell the stories of our incredible athletes at the 2014 Winter Paralympic Games in Sochi and the 2016 Summer Paralympic Games in Rio."