The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has opened the bidding process for the sale of broadcast and exhibition rights in Asia for the Sochi 2014 Winter and Rio 2016 Summer Olympics, as well as the Nanjing 2014 Youth Games.

The IOC says it will consider bids for television rights from 24 countries across the continent - namely Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Brunei, Bhutan, Cambodia, Chinese Taipei, East Timor, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.

The world sport governing body also said it would consider supplemental bids for the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics and the 2020 Olympics, whose host city will be named later this year.

"The IOC will assess bids on their ability to meet the highest standards in broadcast quality, their capacity to reach the broadest possible audience across different media platforms, their commitment to promoting the Olympic Games and the values of the Olympic Movement, as well as on the financial offer," read a statement.

"The IOC will consider bids from organisations who can guarantee full exploitation of the rights either on a multi-territory or country-by-country basis."

The bid submission deadline has been set at 17.00 CET on July 5 this year.

Source