The International Olympic Committee will launch a new digital service dedicated to Olympic sports in August following the conclusion of the Rio 2016 Games.
The Olympic Channel, which will operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, will be available to UK audiences in the early hours of Monday, August 22, straight after the closing ceremony of the 31st Olympiad.
It will be available to access for free worldwide via mobile apps for Android and iOS devices and online at olympicchannel.com.
The ambitious project, the brainchild of current IOC president Thomas Bach, was approved by the committee in December 2014, with the aim of promoting Olympics sports and its athletes between Games and engaging with young audiences.
The new service will provide a mix of live sports coverage, news programming and highlights, plus historic footage from the vast Olympics archive, which will all be accompanied by a strong social media presence on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
Designed for a global audience, the platform will showcase content from around the world, with original programming focusing on elite athletes and their quest for success, allowing fans to follow all sports, athletes and the stories behind the Olympics.
It will not broadcast live events at Olympic Games themselves, so as not to put it in direct competition with national Olympic TV broadcasters, which provide a significant sum towards the Movement’s revenues.
IOC President Thomas Bach said: “The launch of the Olympic Channel is the start of an exciting new journey to connect the worldwide audience with the Olympic Movement all year round.
“Fans will be able to follow sports, athletes and the stories behind the Olympic Games.
“The Olympic Channel will inspire us all and reach out to new generations of athletes and fans.”
Following the launch of its digital platform, the IOC said the Olympic Channel will work with other stakeholders, including rights-holding broadcasters and National Olympic Committees to develop localised versions of the service, with Discovery-owned Eurosport working closely on delivering a bespoke service for European audiences.
The channel plans to produce about 250 hours of original programming and content over the first year, with the IOC having reached agreements with 27 international sports federations to collaborate on content for the channel, including swimming, basketball, tennis, gymnastics, skiing and hockey.
Among those not included were football and athletics, which already have their own global TV rights deals.
The Rio 2016 Olympic Games will be broadcast live across BBC TV, radio and online from August 5-21, with the corporation sharing Olympic rights from the 2018 Winter Games onwards with Eurosport.
