Olympic Channel reaches landmark agreements with International Sports Federations

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach, who recently chaired a joint Olympic Channel Board of Directors meeting at the newly inaugurated OCS facilities in Madrid, said: “The Olympic Channel will mark a major shift in how the Olympic Movement connects with young people all year round. The International Federations have embraced the Olympic Channel and we look forward to working with them on the exciting programming and promotional opportunities. The newly formed Olympic Channel team is making steady progress, with the emphasis on ensuring the product is right and the quality of the programming matches our ambition. We look forward to announcing the 2016 launch date in the coming weeks.”

Mark Parkman, General Manager of OCS, said: “Preparations for the launch of the Olympic Channel are on course and the announcement of these cooperation agreements with our IF partners is another important step forward. We expect to make further announcements regarding collaborations with other IFs and stakeholders in the near future. Content production has begun, the technology and platforms are being tested, and there is a growing sense of energy and excitement here among the Olympic Channel team as we prepare for launch this year.”

World Curling Federation President, Kate Caithness, said: “We are excited to be a part of the IOC’s journey to launching its Olympic Channel and teaming up our resources to ensure top-quality and unique content for curling, that displays the values of our sport which so clearly go hand-in-hand with the principles of Olympic Agenda 2020 and the Olympic Movement. In recent years we have seen our social media and broadcast channels go from strength-to- strength and the demand rise for more broadcast-quality content. Therefore, we welcome today’s announcement, which will help meet that demand, together with our newly expanded television schedule for the upcoming season, which will see 11 curling events broadcast in season 2016/17.”

The creation of an Olympic Channel was one of the key recommendations of Olympic Agenda 2020, aiming to provide a new way to engage young people and core fans in the Olympic Movement, while also promoting the Olympic values on a consistent basis.

The Channel will broadcast live sports events, news and athlete stories, as well as historical Olympic footage and official films from the IOC’s archives. There will also be a focus on educational and youth-oriented programming, sustainability, sports science and nutrition, and promoting a healthy and active lifestyle.

The Olympic Channel Services team now consists of more than 60 full time employees, representing 20 different nationalities. The Olympic Channel team is composed of experienced broadcast professionals and innovative content-producers working out of two main bases of operation. The commercial and distribution departments are located at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, and the technical and production units operate out of Madrid, Spain. The facility to house the Olympic Channel in Madrid is now complete and the OCS production team has begun working with leading production companies from around the world.

The Olympic Channel collaborations aim to complement the International Federations’ current broadcast and distribution arrangements. The Olympic Channel team is currently working with the IFs to create innovative partnerships, including live event coverage, highlights, magazine shows, news coverage and original programming.

The IFs with whom OCS has concluded agreements include: