Olympic officials meeting in Switzerland support major changes

Top Olympic leaders have given their support to a range of potential changes, including the creation of a year-round television channel to broadcast sports that aren’t normally in the spotlight.

The group met Saturday to discuss the Olympic Agenda 2020 campaign recently launched by the International Olympic Committee.

Fifteen officials from around the world -- including U.S. Olympic Committee President Larry Probst — gathered in Lausanne, Switzerland, to speak ith IOC President Thomas Bach.

In addition to the creation of an Olympic channel, the group discussed other key proposals:

—An alteration in the bidding process that places more emphasis on “legacy,” which could mean discouraging potential host cities from building expensive venues that would go unused after the Games end.

—A flexible approach in modifying the Olympic program based on events, not sports. Officials would continue their effort to keep the Games from growing too large and unwieldy.

The group also discussed the use of $20 million earmarked to fight doping and match-fixing in Olympic sports.

Olympic Agenda 2020 is seeking to make the Olympic movement more financially sustainable, more credible and more relevant to young fans. Its proposals will face further scrutiny by IOC commissions and major stakeholders — such as television broadcasters — throughout the fall.

IOC members are scheduled to vote on the agenda at a session in December.