• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, August 20, 2013

Last month, Tokyo-based Dentsu Inc. became an Olympic broadcasting rights holder, securing the rights to five central Asian territories for the Sochi (Russia) 2014 Winter Olympics and the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Turns out that was just the beginning of the holding company’s quest for Olympic rights. The firm has just been awarded the rights for 17 additional countries for the same two sets of games as well as for the Summer Youth Olympics Games in Nanjing, China in 2014.

The additional markets that Dentsu has been awarded rights to include the Philippines, Taiwan, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Laos, Iran, Indonesia, Hong Kong, East Timor, Singapore, Thailand, Papua New Guinea, Mongolia, Myanmar, Afghanistan and Brunei.

Earlier, Dentsu acquired the rights for Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

Dentsu confirmed that it plans to seek out media companies in the countries it has secured rights to and then sub-lease the rights to those entities.  

It’s also possible, if not likely, that Dentsu could negotiate advertising deals on behalf of its clients during the course of talks to re-sell the broadcast rights. Earlier however, a Dentsu rep issued a “no comment,” when asked whether that was part of the plan.

The rights acquired by Dentsu cover all online and off-line media distribution platforms, according to International Olympic Committee Finance Commission Chairman Richard Carrion, who led the negotiations. Carrion said the IOC had “secured a strong partner in Dentsu in order to negotiate broadcast arrangements for these editions of the Olympic Games and Youth Olympic Games in 17 important markets.” Carrion added, “We are confident that Olympic fans in these countries will be more than satisfied with the quality and quantity of the coverage provided.”

Dentsu Inc. Executive Officer Kiyoshi Nakamura said that, “Together with the five Central Asian territories that have been awarded to Dentsu, we are committed to contributing to the development of the Olympic Movement in Asia by distributing media rights in a total of 22 Asian territories.”