 | |
| Broadcast area | Worldwide |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Madrid, Spain[1] |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Picture format | HDTV (1080i16:9) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | International Olympic Committee |
| Key people | Executive DirectorYiannis Exarchos (2015-present) |
| History | |
| Launched | August 21, 2016; 9 years ago (2016-08-21) |
| Links | |
| Website | olympics.com/olympic-channel |
| Availability | |
| Streaming media | |
| Olympics.com | Live Stream |
| YouTube TV | Internet Protocol television |
Olympic Channel is anover-the-topInternet television service operated by theInternational Olympic Committee (IOC). It was launched on August 21, 2016, alongside the closing of the2016 Summer Olympics. The service aims to maintain year-round interest in theOlympic movement, carrying documentaries and other programming chronicling theOlympic Games, as well as coverage of events inOlympic sport outside of the Games.
The IOC operates the service with an international focus, but also stated plans to work with localNational Olympic Committees and rightsholders to establish localized versions and linear services as franchised versions of Olympic Channel.
The service's main goal is to maintain year-round interest inOlympic sports between iterations of theSummer andWinter Olympics, especially among a younger audience; it features coverage of competitions in Olympic sport, as well as short and long-form programmes focusing on Olympic athletes. The service initially broadcast in English, with subtitles available in nine other languages on-launch.[2]
Yiannis Exarchos, overseer of Olympic Channel and CEO ofOlympic Broadcasting Services, stated that the service's content would focus primarily on the stories of athletes, arguing that "We need to take some risks and it's better to take risks now because we're stronger than we’ve ever been. The personalities of athletes, their lifestyles, are something very, very attractive."[3]
IOC presidentThomas Bach, who originally proposed the concept of an Olympics-oriented television channel in 1994 when he was a junior officer of the IOC,[3] stated that the service would be "the start of an exciting new journey to connect the worldwide audience with the Olympic Movement all year round".[2] The channel is produced out ofMadrid, and was allocated a seven-year budget of US$600 million.[3]
The initial digital service has an international focus, but the IOC stated that it plans to work withNational Olympic Committees and local rightsholders to develop local versions of the Olympic Channel, which may optionally include linear television channels.[2] The streaming platform is provided by Playmaker Media, a division ofNBC Sports Group.[2]
Olympic Channel was added toCBC Television's streaming platformCBC Gem on July 23, 2020.[4]
Sport en France is abroadband television channel launched in 2019 and carried by the country's four maintriple play operators. Although not explicitly branded as a French version of the Olympic Channel, it was created by theFrench National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF) and follows a similar concept, aiming to provide regular coverage of sports which have struggled to carve a niche on general-interest and for-profit sports networks.
On 4 September 2017, the IOC announced a partnership withbeIN Sports to launch a linear Olympic Channel for theMiddle East and North Africa (MENA) region, which launched on 1 November 2017. As a lead-up to the launch, the network broadcast a dailyblock of Olympic Channel programming on its main channel.[5]
At an industry forum in March 2017, NBC Olympics president Gary Zenkel stated that NBCUniversal would launch a localized version of Olympic Channel in the United States as a linear television channel later in the year.[6] The U.S. version of Olympic Channel launched July 15, 2017, replacingUniversal HD—which itself had picked up overflow Olympic sports content following the discontinuation ofUniversal Sports in 2015.[7][8][9][10]
On July 1, 2022, NBC announced that Olympic Channel would end its current operation as a U.S. linear cable channel on September 30, 2022, but indicated its programming would be moved to other NBCUniversal platforms.[11]
In January 2019, the IOC announced a partnership withClaro TV and Claro Video to distribute Olympic Channel programming on its Claro Sports linear channel and video streaming service to South American countries.[12]
In January 2019,China Media Group announced plans to launch a Chinese version of the channel.[13] NamedCCTV-16, the channel launched on 25 October 2021.[14]
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