Olympic Channel Scores With FIFA Agreement

(ATR) In the sports world, it’s the equivalent of signing a star player to your team.

The Olympic Channel has reached an agreement with FIFA that will increase coverage of the world’s most popular sport on the website.

The deal with FIFA covers news access and content licenses that will allow the Olympic Channel to promote football within the Olympic Movement.

FIFA is the latest and arguably biggest addition to a roster of 36 International Sports Federations and IOC Recognized Sports Federations who have signed similar agreements.

"Football is one the most popular sports on the planet, and we are excited to work together with FIFA to amplify the excitement of football at the Olympic Games as well as emphasize the deeply-rooted cultural aspects of ‘the beautiful game’ through the Olympic Channel," Mark Parkman, General Manager of the Olympic Channel, said in a statement.

Despite a lack of an agreement before now, football has had a presence on the Olympic Channel since it launched in August at the end of the Rio Olympic Games. The sport has its own dedicated sports page highlighted by coverage of Neymar’s penalty against Germany to take home Brazil’s first-ever gold medal in Olympic football at Rio 2016.

The Olympic Channel says it "has been working with its IF partners to create innovative partnerships which encompass event coverage, social media, highlights, magazine shows, news coverage and original programming as well as technical business solutions".

Discussions with the remaining IFs who have not signed up are ongoing. The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) is the crown jewel still missing from the Olympic Channel’s portfolio.

Written by Gerard Farek

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