CCTV will remain he Olympic broadcaster in China until Brisbane 2032 under the terms of the latest agreement ©Getty Images

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has agreed a four-Games deal with the state-run China Media Group (CMG) - holding company of China Central Television (CCTV) - extending its run of possessing exclusive broadcasting rights in China and Macau until Brisbane 2032.

The agreement extends the IOC's long-time partnership with CCTV, and covers free-to-air TV, streaming, subscription TV and mobile broadcasting rights.

The last deal struck between the two, in 2014 and covering the four Olympic Games from Pyeongchang 2018 onwards - including Beijing 2022 and Tokyo 2020 - was said to be worth $550 million (£400 million/€465 million).

It covered three Games in Asia, making the rights especially valuable, but the latest deal could be worth considerably more given China's sustained economic growth since and in light of the fees reported to have been paid for other sports rights in China.

The IOC signing a further deal with state-run CMG could also been seen as a strengthening of ties between the Olympics' governing body and the Chinese Government - significant as the latter's record on human rights promises to be one of the defining issues of the build-up to the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, which are fewer than five months away.

"The IOC is delighted to announce an extension to our agreement with our longstanding broadcast partner, CMG," IOC President Thomas Bach said.

"The new agreement means Chinese sports fans will be able to continue enjoying CMG’s first-class coverage of the Olympic Games through to 2032. 

"I would like to congratulate CMG for the overwhelming success of its coverage of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, when it reached hundreds of millions of people."

CCTV Olympic Channel, promised to launch later this year as the world's first 4K+HD station which operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, is set to play a central role in coverage of the upcoming Games.

The IOC signing a further deal with state-run China Media Group can also been seen as a strengthening of ties between itself and the Chinese Government ©Getty Images
The IOC signing a further deal with state-run China Media Group can also been seen as a strengthening of ties between itself and the Chinese Government ©Getty Images

"CMG and the IOC enjoy long-term friendly cooperation," added CMG President Shen Haixiong.

"CMG sent a team of nearly 800 people to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. 

"The team made contributions to the success of the Olympic Games under special circumstances through CMG’s coverage and supporting OBS's [Olympic Broadcasting Services] world feed productions. 

"This displayed CMG's support for the Olympic Movement. 

"The renewal of the Olympic Games broadcast rights in China will not only extend the partnership between the two sides, but also create a solid basis for widespread, continuous promotion of the Olympic Movement in China."

Milan Cortina 2026, Los Angeles 2028, the 2030 Winter Olympics - a host for which is yet to be decided - and Brisbane 2032 are the Olympic Games covered by the agreement.

It also covers "all editions of the Youth Olympic Games until 2032", per the IOC.

The previous CCTV-IOC deal also included the Youth Olympics, with Gangwon 2024 and Dakar 2026 - postponed from 2022 - the only future editions confirmed to be taking place.

China represents one of the two biggest markets for the IOC, along with the United States.

In 2014, NBCUniversal bought US broadcasting rights to the Olympic Games from 2022 until 2032 for $7.65 billion (£4.51 billion/€5.49 billion).