Japanese tyre company Bridgestone has stepped up its commitment to the Olympic Movement by signing on as the first founding partner of the International Olympic Committee’s new Olympic Channel.
The four-year deal will run until the 2020 summer Games in Tokyo, Japan.
Under the agreement, Bridgestone, which has served as a worldwide top-tier ‘TOP’ partner of the IOC since 2014, will become the presenting partner of the channel’s new eight-part documentary, Against All Odds.
Each episode of the documentary will follow the story of one athlete’s Olympic journey. The first episode will be shown on Sunday, when the Olympic Channel launches following the closing ceremony of the 2016 summer Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Bridgestone will also support the general development of the channel as a founding partner. As well as documentaries and other programming, the channel will feature live sports broadcasts, highlights, news updates and archive Olympic footage.
The governing bodies of aquatics, archery, badminton, basketball, bobsleigh and skeleton, boxing, canoeing, curling, equestrian sports, fencing, golf, gymnastics, hockey, ice hockey, judo, modern pentathlon, rowing, rugby union, sailing, shooting, skiing, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, triathlon, weightlifting and wrestling have all agreed to collaborate on the channel.
Last week, Olympic Broadcasting Services chief executive Yiannis Exarchos also confirmed that the channel would feature sports that are not part of the Games’ programme of events.
The channel, which it is hoped will engage young people and new audiences in the Olympic Movement, will be available globally as a mobile application on Android and iOS devices, and online via olympicchannel.com.
Bridgestone will serve as a TOP partner of the IOC until 2024, having agreed a 10-year deal with the body in 2014.