Multi Billion Dollar Refund For Tech Brands & TV Stations, If Olympics Cancelled US Takes Action

Technology brands, Intel Panasonic, and Samsung along with the Seven Network and Optus in Australia could save themselves hundreds of millions of dollars if the delayed 2021 Japan Olympics are cancelled.

Last night the US Government issued a warning telling US nationals to avoid travelling to Japan with speculation mounting that the US national team will be stopped from travelling to Japan to compete.

If the Olympics are cancelled Australia’s Olympics broadcaster Seven West Media will be repaid the cost of the Tokyo broadcasting rights deal should the event be cancelled as a result of the coronavirus according to insiders.

The US State Department raised its travel advisory to level four overnight putting Japan in a category with a broad swath of nations from Latin America to Europe that Americans are urged to avoid due to coronavirus concerns.

More than 80% of Japanese citizens don’t want the Olympics to go ahead and a mounting COVID-19 emergency in Osaka has prompted fresh urging to call off the Tokyo Olympics among business leaders and the medical profession.

Hospitals in Osaka, Japan’s second largest city, are buckling under a huge wave of new coronavirus infections, running out of beds and ventilators as exhausted doctors warn of a “system collapse”.

Japan’s western region, home to nine million people, is suffering the brunt of the fourth wave of the pandemic. It has accounted for a third of the nation’s death toll in May, although it constitutes just 7 per cent of its population.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga this month extended a state of emergency that covers Tokyo and expanded it to two more regions hit by rising virus cases, in an attempt to stem infections ahead of the Olympics.

The latest Covid-19 wave has largely been driven by more infectious strains from abroad, adding to concerns about inviting thousands of overseas participants, including athletes and officials.

Several competitors have expressed safety concerns, with the U.S. track and field team cancelling pre-Olympics training in the country.

ChannelNews understands that several Australian competitors are now concerned following an outbreak of COVID-19 among contenders.

People protest on Feb. 29, 2020, in front of the J-Village national soccer training center where the Olympic torch relay will start, located near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The protesters called the Olympics’ stated goal of promoting Fukushima and other northeastern Japan areas affected by the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disasters hypocritical. (Kyodo via AP Images) ==Kyodo

Two Australian Olympic skateboarding hopefuls had their Tokyo dreams dashed after returning positive COVID tests in the United States, along with their coach.

The skateboarders were part of an Australian contingent who flew to the US earlier this month for an Olympic qualifying event in Des Moines, Iowa.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has already generated over $5.1 Billion in sponsorship and TV rights for the games with the bulk of this having to be refunded if the games are cancelled.

US broadcaster NBC paid a US$1.418 billion fee reported to have been agreed in 2011, they recently tried to renegotiate this fee.

Under current contracts NBC is set to continue broadcasting the Olympics in the US until at least 2032.

Due to present extraordinary circumstances, however, this cannot be guaranteed.

The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee said last night Monday, that American athletes won’t be at undue risk if they compete this summer in Tokyo.

Initially, 600,000 fans from abroad had been projected to attend as well, but organizers ruled out that possibility in March.

Japan’s reticence concerning vaccinations has allowed the virus to gain ground after the country kept infection rates low for months.

Just over 3% of the island nation’s population has been inoculated, the lowest among the 37 members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, according to Bloomberg’s vaccine tracker. That compares with more than 40% in the U.S. and in the U.K.