Radio listeners may miss Olympics but TV will reach all

Large parts of Australia could be without live radio coverage of the Tokyo Olympics after ABC’s dropped plans to extend its longstanding partnership.

Large parts of Australia could be without live radio coverage of the Tokyo Olympics after the ABC dropped plans to extend its longstanding partnership and several other commercial broadcasters failed to bid for the rights.

But Seven West Media, which sells commercial radio broadcasting rights to potential suitors, said all Australians would have access to the Olympics television coverage through its affiliate deals.

“As with previous Olympics, Seven’s coverage will cover 100 per cent of Australia through our affiliation agreements with Prime, Southern Cross and others who carry the Seven signal,” a spokesman said. The Australian understands Southern Cross Media Group, Australian Radio Network and Nova Entertainment, who all have a national footprint of metropolitan and regional radio stations, have not bid for the commercial rights.

Should broadcasters such as SEN or Macquarie Sports Radio bid for the rights, it would still leave large parts of Australia without access to live radio coverage of the event.

ABC’s terrestrial local radio network reaches about 99 per cent of the population.

The Australian Olympics Committee is in talks over the bid to broadcast the 2020 Tokyo Olympics live on radio after the ABC said its budget was too stretched to afford the $1m needed to send commentators to Japan and set up its broadcasting system.

ABC’s decision ends 67 years of live Olympics coverage from the public broadcaster and, while the ABC has said it is to do with a budget freeze, some suspect the decision is a tactic to generate publicity and force a backflip from the Morrison government.

The AOC condemned the ­ABC for being “monumentally shortsighted” and ignoring the obligations of its charter.

Australian Sports Commission chairman John Wylie called the decision “absurd” given the ABC received public funding of more than $1bn a year.

In a letter to ABC chairwoman Ita Buttrose obtained by The Australian, Mr Wylie said: “We urge you — do the right thing by the country, and broadcast the Games for the benefit of all, on its traditional and public funded home, ABC radio.”