International sports broadcaster Eurosport has today (Monday) confirmed it will be the exclusive home of the Olympic Games in Germany from 2018 to 2024, beginning with the 2018 winter Games in Pyeongchang.
Under the plan, Eurosport said the German channel Eurosport 1 will offer the country “every moment of national importance” free-to-air.
It said German households across the country will be guaranteed wide access to the Olympic Games which will exceed free-to-air guidelines set by the International Olympic Committee and local regulations.
Additional coverage will be made available on free-to-air channel DMAX and OTT sports platform Eurosport Player. Pay-television channel Eurosport 2 will feature additional exclusive coverage.
“For the first time, our multi-platform approach will give fans the opportunity to enjoy every single moment live, with all of the data available in real time, for every German athlete and every event,” Susanne Aigner-Drews, senior vice-president and general manager of Discovery Networks Germany, said.
Today’s announcement comes amid question marks in recent months surrounding the future of Olympic Games rights in Germany. Public-service broadcasters ARD and ZDF were in talks with Discovery over a sublicensing deal for rights covering the Olympic Games in 2018 and 2020. However, the fee for such rights was said to be a sticking point.
Discovery Communications agreed a deal with the International Olympic Committee in June 2015 for exclusive multimedia rights across 50 countries and territories in Europe for the 2018-2024 Olympic Games. Discovery has struck sublicensing deals in a number of markets to date.