CBC extends Olympics content deal with Twitter

Canadian public-service broadcaster CBC has extended its Olympic Games content deal with social media platform Twitter.

CBC and Radio-Canada have announced a new two-Games agreement with Twitter Canada that will see the public broadcaster’s tweets featuring live content streams and clips from its coverage of Tokyo’s summer Olympic Games (now rescheduled to July 23 to August 8, 2021) and Beijing’s 2022 winter Olympics, reach a wider Canadian audience through the use of Twitter Amplify.

CBC said that the Twitter Amplify programme would expand the reach of CBC/Radio-Canada’s coverage through ad-supported promoted tweets that will target users outside of those already following CBC and Radio-Canada’s Olympic Games-dedicated accounts, @CBCOlympics and @RC_Sports.

The broadcaster said that there would be streams available on Twitter of five top-tier Olympic Games events.

In October 2015, CBC extended its Olympic Games rights deal, acquiring rights for the 2022 and 2024 Games in partnership with telecommunications companies Rogers Communications and Bell Media.

CBC/Radio-Canada’s use of Twitter Amplify dates back to Rio 2016. In 2018, CBC/Radio-Canada became the only official PyeongChang 2018 broadcaster able to live-stream events from the Games on Twitter.

Joe Gottfried, director of sales and marketing for sports and Olympics at CBC/Radio-Canada Media Solutions, said: “With the Tokyo and Beijing Games scheduled only six months apart, our partner brands will have unique opportunities to create a continuous and lasting impact, and connect with an engaged audience around touchstone cultural moments.”

In July 2019, NBCUniversal and Twitter said they would partner for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics to show limited live event coverage, highlights, and a daily studio show on the @NBCOlympics handle during the Games.

In October, international sports broadcaster Eurosport agreed a content and advertising deal with Twitter that will allow the publishing of real-time highlights from the Tokyo Games in certain European markets.

Along with the CBC deal, Twitter yesterday (Monday) extended its agreement with the Women’s National Basketball Association. The US league and Twitter announced the schedule of 10 live regular-season games, which will be streamed on Twitter during the 2020 season as part of the extension.