By GEOFFREY A. FOWLER

BEIJING -- Foreign television broadcasters have reached an accord with Chinese authorities to allow live news coverage during the Beijing Olympics -- including from Tiananmen Square -- settling one of the major remaining roadblocks to the Games that will begin in just a month.

TV companies, some of which have spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the rights to broadcast the Olympics, had been in a stalemate with Beijing officials since May over the ability to report live via satellite outside Games venues. Even in tightly controlled Beijing, live-TV crews could create a platform for protests, such as those that beset the Olympic-torch relay in Europe and the U.S.

The agreement, reached during a meeting of Olympic officials and broadcasters in Beijing on Wednesday, provides broadcasters the right to roam freely with satellite trucks around Beijing and other cities co-hosting the Games. TV crews that want to broadcast from China's cultural relics, such as the Great Wall, will still require additional approval.

And in a surprising turnaround, Beijing also agreed to allow live coverage from Tiananmen Square, the site of a deadly crackdown on pro-democracy protests in 1989, for official rights-holding Olympic broadcasters such as NBC in the U.S. Those broadcasts are restricted to select times -- from 6-10 a.m. and 9-11 p.m. Other media will be allowed to produce recorded reports from Tiananmen.

The issue had become a lightning rod for criticism of China's attempts to control the press. On Monday, Human Rights Watch issued a report detailing challenges faced by foreign media in China, even after authorities loosened rules in the lead-up to and during the Games.

NBC executives, who had expressed optimism in the past month that a deal would be reached, weren't available to comment.

The International Olympic Committee said it welcomed the resolution to the satellite issue. "Whilst we understand there may be frustrations on the part of some broadcasters that they cannot transmit live around the clock from Tiananmen Square, we recognize that this iconic location is much in demand...and that consequently some time constraints for live access were needed to be given by the Chinese hosts," said Giselle Davies, the spokeswoman for the IOC.

Sandy MacIntyre, director of news for AP Television News, praised the accord with Beijing's Olympic organizing committee, known as Bocog, but said TV companies were still waiting for Beijing to issue permits allowing them to beam coverage from around the city. "Bottom line is we are pleased Bocog is taking action to resolve outstanding issues and there has been some movement, but we do not yet have the licenses to operate satellite equipment which we need," he said.

The issue underscored the challenges Beijing authorities face in opening the city to the world.

In a speech on Wednesday, China's Vice President Xi Jinping, who oversees Games preparations, flagged security as a top concern, reflecting how worried the Chinese leadership is about unrest derailing the Games.

Mr. Xi told a gathering of some 3,000 security officials, bureaucrats and Olympic volunteers that a "peaceful Olympics is the most important factor in evaluating Beijing's success in hosting the Games." His speech, delivered at the Great Hall of the People, broadly outlined the government's expectations for the Games and workers to ensure the event's success. Mr. Xi didn't specify the threats or risks Beijing will face during the Games.

Separately, state-run broadcaster China Central Television confirmed Tuesday that it would broadcast the Games live, without the technical delay that accompanies most of its other programming.