(ATR) The IOC launches its Olympic Channel on the final day of the Rio Olympics.
On Aug. 21, the IOC said the new digital platform will operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and be available "anytime, anywhere and on any device". After the Rio closing ceremony, people can connect with the Olympic Channel via a mobile app for Android and iOS devices and at olympicchannel.com.
With a range of programming, the channel aims to grow the profile of the 35 Olympic sports between Games and, said president Thomas Bach, to "reach out to new generations of athletes and fans". The channel’s slogan is ‘Where the Games never end’.
"The launch of the Olympic Channel on 21 August 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," he said.
Original programming will be mixed with live sports events, news and highlights offering additional exposure for sports and athletes all year round. Content will be produced out of Madrid, where Olympic Broadcasting Services is based.
But the channel has no rights to cover the Olympics, which are distributed to rights-holding broadcasters.
So far, deals have been struck with 27 international sports federations to provide content for the channel. But the IAAF, governing body for the No.1 Olympic sport of athletics, and FIFA have yet to come on board. Six other federations have yet to ink deals.
"We have met with all 35 IFs in the Olympic program and have had advanced and good discussions with the IAAF in the past month," an Olympic Channel spokeswoman tells Around the Rings. "We are confident that we are going to have a great cooperation."
Designed for a global audience, the Olympic Channel digital platform will showcase content from around the world, and will initially be offered in English. Additional features at launch will include fantastic content as video on demand, as well as individual sport pages within a user-friendly and mobile-responsive interface, subtitled in nine different languages.
Viewers can register on the channel "for a richer and more personalised experience", allowing them to follow their favourite athletes, teams, sports and countries to receive an individually-tailored content selection.
After the launch, Olympic Channel chiefs plan to add partnerships with other Olympic stakeholders, including rights-holding broadcasters and NOCs to develop localised versions of the Olympic Channel. These will offer language-specific user experiences on digital platforms.
"This is a full global launch of an evolutionary product that will continue to improve and adapt to the changing world of today’s digital media over the next weeks, months and years," the channel spokeswoman told ATR.
Reported by Mark Bisson
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