Dutch public-service broadcaster NOS has agreed a deal with US media and entertainment company Discovery Communications for rights to the 2018 and 2020 Olympic Games.
The deal announced today (Monday) means that NOS will sublicense from Discovery free-to-air broadcast rights for the next edition of the winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, along with the 2020 summer Games in Tokyo, Japan.
The NOS package of rights also includes digital rights to the content it broadcasts on its linear television channel. As part of the NOS agreement, Discovery’s pan-European sports broadcaster Eurosport will hold exclusive live rights to two key sports for both the 2018 and 2020 Olympic Games, including ice hockey for PyeongChang 2018. NOS will also be able to broadcast the highlights.
Jan de Jong, general director of NOS, said: “We have been broadcasting the Olympic Games since 1964, and are delighted that this new agreement with Discovery enables us to continue this long-term relationship with the world’s biggest sports event. This agreement is hugely beneficial to the Dutch audience as it makes the Olympics more accessible for more viewers for a further five years.
“Our clear focus has always been to tell the whole story. We are covering all sporting disciplines and the individual athletes on their four-year road to the Olympics on a day to day basis. And therefore it’s essential that we also attend their ‘moment supreme’, not only this summer in Rio, but in 2018 and 2020 as well.”
JB Perrette, president of Discovery Networks International, said: “This agreement with NOS marks another important Olympic Games partnership deal by Discovery, bringing Discovery another step closer on our ambition to deliver more coverage across more screens than ever before. Most importantly, this is a big win for Dutch viewers who will be able to enjoy all the action, whenever and wherever they choose to watch it.”
In June, Discovery and Eurosport acquired television and multi-platform rights in 50 European markets, including the Netherlands, for four editions of the Olympic Games, from 2018 to 2024, in a deal valued at €1.3bn ($1.4bn). Russia was excluded from the agreement, while the deal applied to the 2022 and 2024 Games only in France and the UK.