27 Oct 2023 – The International Olympic Committee (IOC) President, Thomas Bach, and the China Media Group (CMG) President, Shen Haixiong, have signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two organisations. The signing happened at Olympic House in Lausanne this Friday. The MoU states that the IOC and CMG will continue to collaborate and work together throughout their partnership.
CMG, previously known as CCTV, has broadcast the Olympic Games in China since the 1980s – firstly through its agreement with the Asia Broadcast Union, and subsequently when it acquired rights directly from the IOC for the Olympic Games Beijing 2008.
In October 2021, CMG also launched the CCTV Olympic Channel – the world’s first 24/7, 4K Ultra HD sports channel – further facilitating the promotion of the Olympic Movement and the Olympic values in China and enabling Chinese Olympic fans to engage with their favourite sports, athletes and Olympic stories, all year round, 24 hours a day.
“We are delighted to strengthen our longstanding relationship with CMG through this MoU,” said President Bach. “The innovations brought in by CMG led to record audience numbers for the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022. The IOC is looking forward to the collaboration with CMG during the Olympic Games Paris 2024, when CMG will produce, on behalf of Olympic Broadcasting Services, the international signal for four sports: gymnastics, table tennis, badminton and sport climbing. We also welcome the strong cooperation with the Paris 2024 Organising Committee and the signing of an MoU between the two organisations to promote the Games in China.”
President Shen added that: “CMG is proud to continue broadcasting the Olympic Games in China thanks to its exclusive broadcast rights agreement through to the Olympic Games Brisbane 2032. The signing today at Olympic House is an important moment that marks our joint commitment to bringing the Games to as many people in China as possible.”
Before the signing of the MoU at Olympic House, President Bach welcomed President Shen to the Olympic Museum, and they had the opportunity to see the present that Chinese President Xi Jinping had given to the Museum during his visit in January 2017. The Suzhou-style silk panel depicts two women playing cuju, a ball game that is the earliest known recorded game similar to football. Cuju has a history dating back over 2,000 years when it was first developed under the Han Dynasty. During the visit, the two presidents unveiled CMG’s newly re-designed commemorative stone in the Olympic Museum’s Donors Wall.