As the Salt Lake City Olympics commence, one of the world's most widely watched sporting events will be noticeably absent from the Internet -- again.
Just as in the Sydney 2000 Olympics, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has banned any unauthorized webcasts of Olympic events or other related audio and video products in order to protect television broadcasters' multi-million dollar rights deals.
The IOC's webcast ban is nothing new. But this year, Olympic officials are allowing limited live Web broadcasts in a test to see whether technology can restrict access to video geographically.
In an unprecedented move, the IOC has granted limited Internet broadcasting rights to Swiss television rights holder Television Suisse Romande, which will feature live streaming Olympics broadcasts on its website.
That the IOC is even considering online streaming has taken some sports journalists by surprise.
"The change is that the IOC is willing to stick its toe into the water and take a look at streaming video online," said Steve Klein, co-founder of SportsEditor.com. "It's a breakthrough but it's a breakthrough that won't see any changes until 2008, when the IOC negotiates new contracts."
"The IOC has tried to be very proactive in this space, but the reality is that they have rights with broadcasters through 2008 that were signed when the Net wasn't developed to where it is today," said David Aikman, marketing manager for IOC's Licensing Services.
For online journalists, the IOC webcast ban has meant continuing frustration for realizing the Internet's potential to integrate audio and video.
"It's frustrating but it's certainly understandable," Klein said. "The money comes from TV, and if they mess with that formula they lose their major revenue source."
The IOC has hired NetResult, a joint venture of three British digital-rights-protection firms, to police the Web for any sites that show illegal broadcasts.
NetResult's Copyright Control Services will use spider technology to scour the Net for sites that use Olympic trademarks without permission. The company will also use experienced surfers to monitor former violators.
"You have to let the human experts drive the use of technology," said Caroline Townley, managing director at NetResult. "You need to focus on where the commercial damage is being done."
Since the Sydney Olympics, the IOC has created a database that contains several thousand sites that have been identified as potential violators, said Aikman, who is also a member of the IOC's Internet task force.
"We haven't seen a dramatic decrease in the number of sites that we need to check out (since the 2000 Games)," Townley said. "Some sites have disappeared but they have been replaced by others."
The steady flow of potential copyright violators is likely to continue unabated with this year's Olympics because "sports, next to pornography, is perhaps the biggest driver of traffic," Townley said.
The bulk of offenders infringing upon the Olympic rings aren't commercial sites that intend to profit off the games, but those that don't realize they're using logos in a way that they shouldn't, such as fan tribute sites.
"(Most of the offenders) are pretty well intentioned," Aikman said.
Technology has certainly improved since the 2000 Sydney Games, making it easier for people to record images on the Internet. But while bandwidth is cheaper and more available today, the infrastructure for producing quality, streaming video is still expensive.
Many streaming startups have folded since the 2000 Olympics, limited by bandwidth constraints and unable to rival television as a major revenue source.
"Sites that were trying to push the boundaries to make a name for themselves aren't out there any more," Aikman said.
Quokka Sports declared bankruptcy and shut down last year after running out of cash. Quokka had a revenue-sharing agreement with NBC, which held exclusive U.S. broadcast rights to the Sydney Games.
"The pipes just weren't big enough for Quokka," Klein said.
The cost of producing quality content on the Internet is just one reason that the IOC has been unwilling to expand into new media broadcasting rights.
"On the Internet the costs are high and the revenue models aren't there," Aikman said. "(The broadcasters) aren't willing to expand into that space, and we're unwilling to undo those agreements to finance the games. We haven't seen anybody who's made the numbers work in webcasting."
Officials have been reluctant to permit live Web broadcasts because the fragmented, global nature of the Internet makes it difficult to grant broadcasting rights regionally, as is traditionally done with televised events.
If the IOC's test with Television Suisse Romande proves successful, the Internet could play a more significant role in broadcasting the games after 2008.
"When technology allows us to add the same model (of licensing on the Internet as television), we will push that as quickly as possible," Aikman said.
When China hosts the 2008 Olympic games, protecting official IOC trademarks across different languages and national borders could prove to be vastly more difficult.
To tackle this monumental task, the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad established a legal affairs department last October to protect Olympic intellectual property rights.
"The Chinese have been making great strides in copyright protection," Aikman said.
If the Internet and television truly converge over the next six years, it's possible that the IOC will consider granting new media rights.
"We hope that we'd be able to expand our TV coverage in 2008 (to include multiple broadcasts and the Internet)," Aikman said. "If we can find the technological solution it makes things a lot easier."
"When the Internet and TV are seamless then there will be opportunities that no one can ignore," Klein said.
