The International Olympic Committee has commenced work on its new Olympic channel with Dick Ebersol, former chairman of the NBC Sports Group division of US media company NBCUniversal, brought on board as a special adviser for the project.
The IOC last week backed the launch of an Olympic channel – possibly as early as next year – as president Thomas Bach secured almost total support for his ‘Agenda 2020’ measures at the 127th IOC Session in Monaco.
The focus has now turned to implementing the Agenda 2020 reform measures with a meeting held at IOC headquarters in Lausanne to discuss the next steps for the Olympic channel.
The IOC has said the channel – to be run by the Madrid-based Olympic Broadcasting Services and based in Switzerland and Spain – will cost €490m ($600m) to operate over its first seven years, with the goal of breaking even in the first decade.
It will initially be a worldwide digital offering; however the IOC added that as linear television distribution opportunities arise, these will also be assessed.
Ebersol, an Olympic television executive producer for 20 years, said after the meeting: “More than 20 years ago in conversations with the then IOC leadership, we talked about a mutual dream of creating a year-round Olympic channel. I wholeheartedly applaud president Bach’s vision and successful initiative in bringing it to fruition.
“The media landscape has changed enormously in recent years, in particular with the uptake of digital media. There is much more opportunity today to reach and connect with audiences everywhere on earth, in particular young people. I jumped at this opportunity to be involved on one condition…that my role be unpaid, as I want to repay in some small way the joy the Olympics have given me since childhood.”