• by Wayne Friedman , March 23, 2020

A day after the head of the International Olympic Committee said it would decide on the fate of the Tokyo Summer Olympics at the end of April, one veteran IOC member says it has already been decided, according to one report.

“On the basis of the information the IOC has, postponement has been decided,” says Dick Pound, according to USA Today. “The parameters going forward have not been determined, but the games are not going to start on July 24, that much I know.”

An IOC spokesperson, responding to an email from Television News Daily, said: “It is the right of every IOC Member to interpret the decision of the IOC [executive board] which was announced yesterday.”

Over the weekend, IOC President Thomas Bach said cancellation is “not on our agenda,” but postponement is possible. He said a final decision would be made in four weeks. 

Pound says the games are likely to be moved to 2021 in Tokyo due to COVID-19 concerns.

In the U.S., NBCUniversal has sold 90% of its Tokyo Summer Olympic national TV advertising for its TV networks -- totaling over $1.25 billion. Comcast paid $1.45 billion in U.S. TV sports rights fees for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Brian Roberts, chairman/chief executive officer of Comcast Corp, speaking at a Morgan Stanley Media Investor conference event in San Francisco last month, said that in the event of an Olympics cancellation, the company has insurance protection.