Revenue-sharing deal with US close: IOC

QUEBEC CITY - An elusive revenue-sharing deal between the United States and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is close to being finalised, officials said on Wednesday, ending a bitter dispute that has paralysed American efforts to host an Olympic Games.

Protracted negotiations between the IOC and United States Olympic Committee (USOC) over how to split billions of dollars in television rights and sponsorship appear to have ended in a sudden agreement that could be confirmed this week during IOC executive board meetings.

"We are very close to a deal," IOC spokesman Mark Adams told reporters.

"The (IOC) president (Jacques Rogge) said this morning that until it has gone to both executive boards and is signed off by the presidents it is not a deal but we are very positive that things are heading in the right direction."

Over nearly two years of sometimes tense negotiations, there have been several false dawns but this time there is a sense that a real breakthrough has been made in Quebec City.

The IOC has argued that the USOC receives more than its fair share from global marketing contracts and U.S. broadcasting revenues and has sought a fairer distribution of the Olympic pie.

The USOC has maintained it is entitled to a larger share since it is American television rights and sponsors which keep Olympic coffers flush with cash.

The dispute has left the USOC a virtual outcast within the IOC and is blamed for failed bids by New York (2012) and Chicago (2016) to land a Summer Games.

A new agreement would remove the roadblock for future Olympic bids by the USOC, which has held firm on its pledge to not seek a Winter or Summer Games until a revenue deal is in place.