BOCOG backs Sohu in Olympics dispute

BOCOG, the Beijing Olympics organizing committee spoke out in support of web portal Sohu.com, which is currently involved in a row with its rivals over coverage of the games, the Wall Street Journal reported. BOCOG stressed that Sohu, as the official internet partner for the Olympics, was the only site on which local-level sponsors could release their Olympics-related advertisements. Other Chinese web sites have formed an alliance against Sohu and claim that its rights stretch no further than running the official website for the games and using the games logo in its marketing. BOCOG said that only local-level sponsors were obliged to use the Sohu platform; global-level sponsors are free to feature Olympic symbols in any media and in any market around the world. BOCOG was less clear on Sohu's claim that it will have preferential access to report on the games.