ESPN Buys Olympic TV Rights For South America

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — ESPN secured the South American broadcast rights to the 2010 and 2012 Olympics on Thursday in a deal worth about $10 million.

ESPN takes over from the Iberoamericana Television Organization (OTI) group of networks which broadcast each summer Olympics since the 1992 Barcelona Games.

The rights, sold by the International Olympic Committee, cover the 2010 Vancouver Games and the 2012 London Olympics.

It's the first time Disney-owned ESPN has acquired Olympic broadcast rights on its own. Previously, its subsidiary, ESPN Star Sports, secured some rights to show the Vancouver and London Game across much of Asia.

"We are delighted to announce this agreement with ESPN and look forward to working with them," IOC president Jacques Rogge said.

ESPN executives called the new deal "a tremendous milestone" for the network's business in South America.

"This agreement expands our relationship with the IOC and adds the Olympic games to the schedule of world class events we cover," Russell Wolff, the managing director of ESPN International, said in a statement.