History of Canadian Olympic broadcasting rights

Sochi 2014 and Rio de Janeiro 2016

CBC/Radio-Canada announced on Aug. 1, 2012, that it had won the Canadian media rights for the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, and the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The deal came more than a month after CBC and Bell Media announced they would no longer submit a joint bid for the rights.

The CBC has previously broadcast the Games 19 times.

Select the arrows below to learn more about the history of Canadian Olympic broadcasting rights.

Photos: Top - Hundreds gather at Copacabana beach in Rio for the Olympic host announcement in 2009. (Sergio Moraes/Reuters). Bottom - A cable car arrives at the top of the Rosa Khutor alpine resort near Sochi, Russia, in February 2012. (Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters)

Vancouver 2010 and London 2012

With the 2010 Winter Games being contested on home soil in Vancouver, the Canadian Olympic media rights were a hot commodity when they came up for grabs in 2005.

A partnership between CTV Inc. and Rogers Communications - later to be formally known as Canada's Olympic Broadcast Consortium - won the rights.

The International Olympic Committee, the Games' governing body, said the winning bid was $153 million US for both the Vancouver Games and the 2012 Summer Games in London.

That represented an increase of 110 per cent on the $73 million that CBC paid for the Canadian broadcasting rights for the 2006 and 2008 Games.

The consortium offered $90 million alone for the rights to the Vancouver Games.

Photo: Canada's Sidney Crosby skates with a flag after scoring the overtime winning goal in the men's hockey gold medal final in Vancouver on Feb. 28, 2010. (Jonathan Hayward/Canadian Press)

Sydney 2000

In 1998, the IOC awarded CBC the rights for the next three Summer Games and two Winter Games. The $160-million US deal included a broadcast partner, Netstar, owner of TSN (later acquired by CTV Inc.) and RDS.

The 2000 Summer Games in Sydney kicked off the new arrangement and introduced a new Olympic hero to Canadians: Simon Whitfield, gold-medal-winning triathlete.

Photo, right: Wrestler Daniel Igali celebrates gold in Sydney. (Reuters)

Atlanta 1996

The 1998 Winter Games in Nagano, Japan, were shown on CBC, as were the Atlanta Olympics two years earlier. At those Summer Games, Canadian sprinter Donovan Bailey struck gold in the 100 metres.

This profile of Bailey aired on CBC before his historic run. (Track footage courtesy IAAF.)

Photo, right: Canadian cyclist Clara Hughes rides to bronze in the women's road time trial in Atlanta. (Frank Gunn/Canadian Press)

Lillehammer 1994

CTV won the rights to the 1992 Summer Games in Barcelona, marking the first time that a network other than CBC had broadcast a Summer Games.

As part of the package, CTV was awarded the rights to the 1994 Winter Games in Lillehammer, Norway.

The network had earlier covered the 1988 Calgary Olympics, along with several other Winter Games.

Myriam Bédard became the story of the Lillehammer Games for Canada, winning two gold medals in the women's biathlon.

Photo: Myriam Bédard waves to the crowd after receiving a gold medal for her win in the 15km biathlon competition. (Tom Hanson/Canadian Press)

Montreal 1976

CBC held the broadcast rights for the 1976 Summer Games in Montreal, when Canada was a first-time Olympic host.

In this video, there is discussion about the planning involved as a host broadcaster. The CBC established a special Olympic Radio and Television Organization (ORTO) division for the duration of the Games, which provided video to broadcasters around the world.

Photo, right: Montreal's Olympic Stadium on the eve of the 1976 Games. (Canadian Press)

Squaw Valley 1960

The IOC first awarded Olympic broadcasting rights in 1960. The CBC won the rights to broadcast both the Winter Games from Squaw Valley, Calif., and the Summer Games from Rome.

But that wasn't the CBC's first Olympic experience. The network reported from the Melbourne Summer Games in 1956.

Photo: Canadian figure skaters Barbara Wagner and Robert Paul display their gold medals after winning the pairs competition at the Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, Calif., in 1960. (AP)