Italian public-service broadcaster Rai has agreed a sublicensing deal with media company Discovery Communications for rights to the 2018 winter Olympic Games.
Rai’s board of directors has approved the agreement for Pyeongchang 2018, adding that a “negotiating framework” is also in place for rights to the 2020 summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.
The agreement comes after Rai in April threatened to pull out of negotiations, describing the difference between the two parties as “unbridgeable”.
Rights to the 2014 and 2016 Olympic Games in Italy were acquired by pay-television broadcaster Sky, with Rai subsequently sublicensing live rights to Rio 2016 and highlights of Sochi 2014.
In June 2015, Discovery acquired Olympic Games rights in 50 European territories in a four-Games deal with the International Olympic Committee, from 2018 to 2024.