France Télévisions set to bring forward Olympic channel plans

French public-service broadcaster France Télévisions has brought forward plans to launch a digital channel dedicated to the Olympic Games.

France Télévisions was originally expected to create the channel for its ‘home’ 2024 summer Olympic Games in Paris.

This was part of the commitment it made when striking a sublicensing deal with US media group Discovery in April for the 2022 to 2024 Olympic cycle to ensure the widest access to the Paris 2024 Games.

According to French newspaper Le Figaro, France Télévisions president, Delphine Ernotte, said the channel is now expected to be operational for its coverage of next year’s summer Olympics in Tokyo.

While the channel is still in the planning stage, its use for Tokyo 2020 and the 2022 winter Olympic Games in Beijing will grant France Télévisions time to ease in its introduction ahead of Paris 2024.