Singapore's Broadcast Rights for 2020 Tokyo Olympics

The following question stood in the name of Mr Ganesh Rajaram –

9 To ask the Minister for Communications and Information (a) whether he can provide an update on the securing of broadcast rights for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics; (b) whether the rights have been secured and, if not, why, given that the event is just over two years away; and (c) whether there is a danger of Singaporeans missing out on watching the Games.

Mr Kok Heng Leun (Nominated Member): Question No 9.

The Minister for Communications and Information (Assoc Prof Dr Yaacob Ibrahim): Mr Speaker, negotiations to secure "live" broadcasting rights for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics are still ongoing. The negotiations are best left to the broadcasters and rights owners to undertake and conclude, as it would be unwise to take the position that we should have "live" telecasts regardless of the cost and for the Government to underwrite any amount demanded by rights owners, particularly when the rights are still being negotiated.

Sir, over the years, broadcasting rights fees have been growing rapidly. For instance, for the 2016 Rio Olympics broadcasting rights, Dentsu originally wanted to charge three times what it cost to broadcast the 2012 London Olympics "live". This shows how lucrative the business of broadcasting rights has become. At the same time, it is becoming increasingly difficult for broadcasters to recoup the escalating costs of broadcasting rights, because there are so many cheaper options to watch such sporting events "live".

If the rights owners only seek to maximise their profits, they risk making broadcasts of major games less accessible by driving fans to other media channels or away from the sports entirely. This is in no one’s interest in the long term.

Mr Speaker: Mr Kok Heng Leun.

Mr Kok Heng Leun: I thank the Minister for the reply. On behalf of Mr Ganesh, I have a supplementary question.

In light of the last Olympics when we had Joseph Schooling doing Singapore proud in 30 seconds, would the broadcaster consider together working with the Government to think about pooling resources to secure the rights? As the Minister rightly said, the cost of securing the rights has gone up. This has been done in Malaysia and in other countries. Is there any progress on that?

Assoc Prof Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Mr Speaker, Sir, I understand the sentiments expressed by the Member, and it is important for us to recognise that these are commercial arrangements. It is best that we leave it to the rights owners and the broadcasters to make the negotiations. The Government will continue to monitor the situation. The most important thing is that we do not think it is right for us to intervene. Let the key players and the market decide what is the best course of action for them.