Nine Entertainment has been secretly pitching for companies to pay up to $12.5 million to back its Olympic Games coverage next year – a roughly 60 per cent increase on the Tokyo Games, as it aims to recoup the $305 million it agreed for the broadcast rights.

The ASX-listed company, which owns the Nine Network, the Stan streaming platform, and publishing businesses including The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Australian Financial Review, unveiled its big pitch to 1300 advertisers, analysts, media executives and TV stars at its upfront event in Sydney last week.