USOC spat over revenues may imperil Chicago's bid

Chicago's Olympic bid organizers hope an international squabble over how Olympic revenues are split won't kill their efforts to host the 2016 Games.

In Athens, where Chicago will likely be named one of the finalists today, the U.S. Olympic Committee was under fire Tuesday for what critics said was its refusal to renegotiate its "immoral" share of global Olympic revenues.

Under a long-standing deal with the International Olympic Committee, the USOC receives nearly 13 percent of U.S. TV rights fees and 20 percent of global marketing revenues -- totaling hundreds of millions of dollars.

Discussions about reducing the U.S. share have failed to produce an agreement.

Andrew Ryan of the Association of Summer Olympic Sports Federations said the issue is "reflecting very badly on the USOC,'' adding, "it would very depressing if Chicago turns out to be the best bid [and is] damaged by this ongoing discussion.''

Chicago bid leader Patrick Ryan said he believed the revenue dispute was a USOC-IOC matter that was not related to the 2016 race. "I know the USOC has every intention of reaching an understanding," Ryan said.

When the revenue-sharing deal was negotiated 20 years ago, nearly all the Olympic revenues were generated from the United States. Now, many of the sponsors are non-American and the U.S. TV rights fees account for a smaller percentage. Still, more than 60 percent of IOC revenue comes from American TV rights and sponsors.