SportsMax awarded exclusive broadcasting rights in Caribbean to screen Sochi 2014

By Nick Butler

January 23 - Next month's Winter Olympic Games in Sochi will be exclusively screened by television station SportsMax in the Caribbean region, it was revealed today.

The deal, announced between the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and International Media Content Ltd (IMC), the parent company of SportsMax, is applicable for 21 nations and territories ranging from Anguilla to Trinidad and Tobago.

It consists of exclusive English language broadcast rights on all media platforms, with live coverage to be provided on both SportsMax and SportsMax2 for the duration of the Games when they get underway in Sochi.

This will extend IMC and SportsMax's Olympic coverage in the region after the channel screened the London 2012 Summer Olympic Games as well as the last Winter version in Vancouver four years ago - although it is understood that it will not include the Rio 2016 Olympic coverage which was awarded to CANOC Broadcasting Inc. last November.

The announcement continues the IOC's effort to make the Games accessible to audiences throughout the world - including in areas not renowned for Winter sport - with two deals being revealed for Sub-Saharan Africa last week.

Jamaica's bobsleigh success and qualification for Sochi 2014 will be a highlight for Caribbean viewers next month ©Getty Images

"This agreement is another step in ensuring the universality of the Olympic Games," said IOC President Thomas Bach.

"Having worked with IMC to broadcast both the Vancouver and London Games, we are very pleased to be able to rely on their expertise once again in Sochi."

The deal was further explained by IOC member Richard Carrión, who led the negotiations and outlined how "IMC will provide live and delayed coverage on their own SportsMax channels, and work with free-to-air broadcasters across the Caribbean, ensuring daily coverage of the Sochi Games for sports fans."

The news was also welcomed by IMC chairman Pat Rousseau who sees the deal as "part of IMC's commitment to delivering to the Caribbean the most premier sporting events in the world.

"The addition of Sochi 2014 to IMC's programming makes for an incredibly exciting broadcast year, with the 2014 FIFA World Cup also coming from IMC," he added.

"In 2010, IMC broadcast the Olympic Winter Games for the first time in the region, and we are expecting a similar strong response from our subscribers for Sochi 2014."

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