A top sports official from Hong Kong has written to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to raise his concerns after a deal to air the London Games on a free-to-air channel fell apart. Timothy Fok Tsun-ting, president of the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China, has informed IOC president Jacques Rogge that there is still no deal in place between rights holder i-Cable, ATV and TVB.

Last month, ATV has said that it had planned to accept pay operator i-Cable’s offer and broadcast the Olympics on its English-language World channel, though it was only allowed to air 400 minutes of its own commercials during the 250 hours of broadcasts. However, last week, i-Cable and ATV revealed that negotiations have been put on hold because ATV broadcasts, which are widely seen in the Pearl River Delta region, may infringe on the exclusive rights of mainland stations. TVB, on its part, has already rejected i-Cable’s offer.

Despite these negotiations, Gregory So Kam-leung, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, is confident that Hongkongers will still be able to see the Olympics on free-to-air channel pointing out that communication among the companies is key to this issue.

However, some members of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong have protested outside the government headquarters, demanding that the government step in so that Hongkongers can watch the Olympics on free channels.