Deputy Zhurova: Russia should not broadcast the Paris Olympics this year
This year, Russian TV channels should not broadcast the Olympics in Paris, says Olympic champion and State Duma deputy Svetlana Zhurova. In a conversation with Lenta.ru, she spoke about covering the competitions under the restrictions for Russian athletes.
“In the current situation, there is no need to broadcast. It is not a cheap pleasure to purchase broadcast rights, so for most people it is not very clear why money from their taxes should go to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), abroad, to broadcast the Olympic Games when ours are not there,” the deputy believes.
If we said now that we would broadcast, believe me, the numbers would be unpleasant for the channels. They would work at a huge loss, and no sponsors would come to these broadcasts
According to the parliamentarian, the country’s residents in most cases prefer to watch major competitions involving Russian athletes.
“Viewership figures for regular competitions in our country range from four to ten percent maximum. Only peak competitions, the same Olympic Games, when our athletes competed and made it to the finals, at these moments the views were quite high. As soon as our athletes were not there or the competitions were not significant, people simply did not watch. There is no point in buying rights for this, spending money and giving them. Many watched the Olympic Games solely because our athletes were there,” she added.
Related materials:
The IOC has removed information about the 2024 Paris Olympics being shown to Russian TV viewers from its website. Previously, the organization reported that Russian residents would be able to watch the Games, but now there is no such information.
On July 13, Sports.ru reported that Russian TV channels would not broadcast the Olympics for the first time in 40 years. This is due to the fact that domestic athletes will participate in the competitions under a neutral flag.
Source: Lenta
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