Plans for USOC TV network officially shelved

THE United States Olympic Committee has dropped plans to start its own TV network - a concept that was widely opposed by the International Olympic Committee.

IN ACCORD: The agreement between USOC chairman Larry Probst and IOC president Jacques Rogge over a potential Olympic network has been rubber-stamped (Getty Images)

The IOC considered the potential network a threat to its multi-billion dollar contract with American broadcaster NBC, who paid $2bn for the rights for the 2010 and 2012 Olympics.

At present the IOC generates more than half of its revenues through TV rights and deals with US broadcasters tend to be worth more than the rest of the world combined.

And the USOC's plan to form a partnership with Comcast to form a network that would carry 24-hour Olympic-themed programming was viewed as a direct threat to NBC.

So much so that USOC chairman Larry Probst met with IOC officials last August to agree to put the plans on hold - and it has since been confirmed that the plan has been permanently shelved.

"This is really just a formal acknowledgment of a decision made eight months ago," a USOC spokesman said. "The timing for the network no longer made sense."

The bidding for the American TV rights for 2014 and 2016 has not taken place yet, and the IOC is sensitive to anything that might make the rights seem less valuable or antagonise NBC.