Olympic ban stops Radio news shows being streamed internationally

Listeners outside the UK will not receive Radio 4 news shows online for the duration of the London 2012 Games due to media rights agreement with IOC.


The International Olympic Committee is being blamed for preventing Radio 4 and Radio 5 Live fans on holiday abroad from listening online to BBC shows, including Today and PM, for the duration of the London 2012 Games.

None of Radio 4's news programmes will be available to listen to internationally, apart from some non-Games related elements of Today, because the corporation's media rights agreement with the IOC bars it from broadcasting anything online outside the UK from the Olympic Park or other Olympic venues.

The IOC ban will also hit Radio 5 Live news shows being broadcast live from London 2012 venues, including Live Olympic Breakfast, for the duration of the Games.

It is too complicated – and expensive – for the programmes to be re-edited for the international audience because of the amount of Olympics content involved, so the programmes affected have been taken offline permanently for the duration of the Games, according to a BBC spokesman, with the exception of Today.

As a result, holidaying Radio 4 listeners will have to go without many of the station's regular news programmes for the duration of the London Games, which officially starts on Friday evening and runs until Sunday 12 August.


.. continued...

Source:-

"The Guardian".
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/jul/27/ioc-ban-hits-radio-4-shows


Meanwhile Mark Damazer (ex-controller R4) writes here (In The Guardian):-

"Olympic overseas ban on Radio 4 news items has ruined my holiday"
"As it turns out the BBC does not have the UK broadcast rights. Locog and the IOC gave them to OBS which provides a feed for all broadcasters – including the BBC. The deal with the IOC means anything broadcast from any Olympic venue (including media locations) on a BBC website that is pointed outside the UK is out of bounds."  

I presume the Beeb are jamming R4 LW to make this absurdity complete?