Olympic Network on Hold, USOC Pledges Cooperation

USOC Chair Larry Probst met with the IOC President Aug. 15. (ATR/File Photo)(ATR) The chairman of the U.S. Olympic Committee admits it “was not a good move” to announce plans for a U.S. Olympic Network last month -- against the wishes of the IOC. Now promising to cooperate with the IOC, Larry Probst says those plans are on hold.

The USOC has decided to “delay further development of the network until we have resolved all issues of concern to the IOC,” Probst said following a meeting Saturday with IOC president Jacques Rogge on the side of the IAAF World Championships in Berlin.

Rogge told Around the Rings the day prior to that meeting that the IOC has “concerns because of the use of the rings, because of the name, and the impact on the value of the rights in the market for the rightholders."

He said the IOC also had concerns “because this is going to eat potential sponsorship for the Games organizers."

The IOC also has questions about the effect on athletes and federations.

Probst said he suggested the meeting after the IOC reacted harshly to the USOC’s announcement of a 24-hour network last month.

“I think I had a very constructive, cordial and productive conversation with President Rogge yesterday and I think we’re moving in a positive direction,” Probst told a small group of reporters.

He offered an apology for ignoring the IOC request to postpone the announcement.

“We regret that and we think that was not a good move.”

Probst said the USOC was concerned about information about its deal with Comcast leaking, and wanted to be “proactive about trying to control the message, control the announcement.”

Regarding leaking, he said wryly, “I’ve noticed that the concept of confidentially in the Olympic Movement is almost non-existent.”

But the response to the network announcement was virulent, in some cases, dismissive in others. “

“There is no question, that we underestimated the intensity of the reaction that we got from multiple constituencies,” Probst said. He said the USOC expected a reaction that would have been neutral to positive.

“That didn’t happen, so it was a miscalculation on our part,” he said. “The execution of this could have been better.”'

Impact on Chicgo Bid

But now has the USOC done the damage control that it needed regarding the Chicago bid?

“The USOC wants to do everything it can to help support the Chicago bid,” Probst said, “and if this meeting with President Rogge and the discussion we had and the decision that we’ve made, if that’s going to be beneficial to the bid, I think that’s terrific, because we want to see Chicago win the bid.”

Chicago 2016 chief Patrick Ryan, said in a statement, "We applaud Larry Probst and the USOC for making a strong statement of partnership by stating that the USOC would secure the full support and cooperation of the IOC before moving forward with the Olympic Network.

Chicago is running against Rio de Janeiro, Madrid and Tokyo, vote set for Oct. 2 at the IOC Session in Copenhagen.

"It is important not only for the USOC and IOC relationship, but also for the USOC's role within the Olympic Movement."

Before releasing a statement Sunday, the USOC consulted parties including Chicago 2016, which was blindsided by the announcement as officials came home from the ANOCA general assembly in Nigeria.

What Next for Olympic Network?

Probst said he doesn’tknow how long it will take the USOC and IOC to resolve their differences over the network.

“We’re delaying development until we have addressed all their issues and concerns and we have their full support and cooperation,” he said.

But he doesn’t expect any “tremendous progress,” he said, in the next 50 days, which would go through the announcement of the 2016 host city on Oct. 2 in Copenhagen.

Probst insisted that the USON is “potentially a good thing.”

He said that while he has been in Berlin, multiple people have come up to him and said, “This is a great idea, does that mean my sport and my athletes can get some exposure on television?”

When Probst told them “yes,” they replied, “That’s great, who can I talk to about that?”

“So it’s not all negative out there,” he said. “There are a lot of people who are positive about this and I think that ultimately, we can get everybody on the same page. It’s got to be properly orchestrated and properly timed.”

In March at Sportaccord, the USOC eased hard feelings over the share of TV and sponsor rights by agreeing to renegotiate with the IOC.

Asked if the USOC was making a huge concession this time in order to facilitate the partnership with the IOC that both parties want, Probst said, “Yeah,” with a laugh.

“We want to work cooperatively with the IOC."

And Probst thinks he can do that with Rogge. “He’s a very reasonable guy," he said, "and he’s somebody that I can work with and I think he feels that way about me."

Written by Karen Rosen

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