- Nine secured the rights to the next five Olympics in 2024
- Marketing professional claims broadcaster made mistake
- IOC has strict guidelines on the use of the rings
Channel Nine might be hearing from the International Olympic Committee after an eagle-eyed TikTok user claimed the network has been using an incorrect version of the famed Olympic rings logo.
The media company secured the rights to the next five Olympics from Channel 7, starting with the 2024 Paris Games, with a $305million cash bid and $10million in free advertising.
Full coverage of the Paris Olympics is available on free-to-air television on the Nine network, through its streaming platform 9Now and paid streaming platform Stan.
Marketing professional Kiandra Trickett, who goes by The Original Kiki on social media, has revealed the Nine network appears to be using an unauthorised, altered version of the Olympic rings.
The image appears on the welcome screen of the 9Now app that can be accessed on mobile devices, computers and smart televisions.
‘Did I just miss an Olympic ring re-brand?’ she posted on TikTok.
She then showed images of the different iterations of the logo that have been used over the years.
Designed by Pierre de Coubertin, the rings are a global representation of the Olympic Movement, consisting of five interlaced rings of equal dimensions in blue, yellow, black, green and red.
The welcome screen to the 9Now app that shows the incorrect version of the Olympic rings
Marketing professional Kiandra Trickett (pictured) revealed the incorrect use of the Olympic rings on social media platform TikTok
The correct version of the Olympic rings as featured on the Eiffel Tower in Paris
The rings symbolise the union of the five continents and the global meeting of athletes at the Olympic Games. First introduced in 1913, the rings appeared on the Olympic flag in 1914 and made their official Games debut in 1920.
The same design has been used since 1914, except for a period between 1986 and 2010 which included white spaces at the points where each circle linked with another.
That design was officially dropped in 2010 with the original design restored.
Trickett then showed the 9Now version, which shows different linking between the rings from what is set out in the official IOC guidelines.
While each ring interlaces behind and in front each neighbouring ring in those guidelines, the 9Now version has each ring fully layered either in front or behind the neighbouring ring, without the interlaced effect.
The rings themselves are also thinner than the official IOC design.
‘What is this? What is that?’ Trickett said, pointing out the differences.
‘I think your designer has just created five circles that aren’t the logo.
‘I’ve been looking at that the past two days and been like, what is wrong with this?
‘Now I have actually seen it up close, yeah. I don’t know if it’s a rights thing but I would feel like you can’t do that.’
Pictured: The seven different versions of the Olympic rings that the IOC has authorised for use in 2024
The Olympics strayed from tradition between 1986 and 2010, using this version of the rings, which included spaces at the points where the rings link
There are seven different versions of the rings approved by the IOC, including a host of single colour and monochrome versions, but none match the rings currently on the 9Now app.
Media guidelines for the 2024 Paris Olympics state, ‘The Olympic rings should never be altered in any way’ and include two pages of examples of common alterations that are outlawed.
Trickett’s followers were shocked by her discovery, however some pointed out the error was only on the introduction screen, not in the app itself.
‘The 9Now app icon on my Samsung TV shows the correct logo with interlocking rings,’ one posted.
‘Mine shows correctly on the 9Now app but when you open it, the welcome page shows the wrong one,’ added another.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Channel Nine for comment.
