The newly launched Olympic Channel will show live coverage of 37 events across 10 different sports before the end of 2016, it has been confirmed.
The coverage begins on Thursday with the final men’s ice hockey qualifying tournament for the 2018 winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang, South Korea. The International Ice Hockey Federation tournament will be jointly staged in Minsk, Riga and Oslo, the capital cities of Belarus, Latvia and Norway, respectively.
The last scheduled event to be covered by the Olympic Channel this year is the Montreal Fencing Grand Prix, which takes place in the Canadian city from December 16-18.
Other sports to be covered in the coming months include canoe slalom, table tennis, badminton, triathlon, archery, wrestling, shooting and basketball after the Olympic Channel agreed partnerships with the respective International Federations.
The International Olympic Committee launched the Olympic Channel on August 21 following the closing ceremony of the summer Games in Rio de Janeiro. The channel is available as a mobile application around the world on Android and iOS devices, and online via olympicchannel.com.
It is hoped the channel, which also features highlights, programming, news updates and archive Olympic footage, will engage young people and new audiences in the Olympic Movement.
“Placing a spotlight on Olympic sports and athletes outside of the Games themselves is one of the key priorities of the Olympic Channel,” Mark Parkman, general manager of the Olympic Channel, said.