USOC chief says he’s optimistic on IOC financing agreement

USOC optimistic on financing deal with IOC

SINGAPORE — The head of the U.S. Olympic Committee says he’s optimistic he can reach an agreement with the IOC about financing future games.

Dow Chemical Co. and Procter & Gamble Co. announced new 10-year sponsorship deals with the International Olympic Committee last month, which USOC chief executive Scott Blackmun said will help boost revenue.

“It gives us revenues we didn’t have before so in that sense it kind of makes the pie bigger for everyone,” Blackmun said in a telephone interview Monday.

The two sides are negotiating how much the USOC should pay toward the administrative costs of staging the Olympics, a first step toward a possible revision of the revenue-sharing agreement.

“On that issue (the cost of the games) and other revenue issues, we feel very optimistic,” Blackmun said. “We’re still working in good faith with the IOC.”

The sides agreed last year to begin negotiations in 2013 on a new revenue-sharing formula to go into effect in 2020.

Currently, the USOC gets a 20 percent share of global sponsorship revenue and a 12.75 percent share of U.S. broadcast rights deals.

Adding Dow and P&G gives the 2012 London Olympics 11 top-tier sponsors, including Acer, Atos Origin, Coca-Cola, GE, McDonald’s, Omega, Panasonic, Samsung and Visa.