iWorld
IOC proposes Olympic OTT channel, plans to firm up by Dec
NEW DELHI: An Olympic television channel is to commence telecast from next year as an OTT service.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has said it will present Olympic sports 24 hours per day to make the Olympic Games more attractive for young people.
According to IOC president Thomas Bach, the channel will show a mixture of live sports, stories about athletes and volunteers, news and background information.
During the Olympic Games in London in 2012, the IOC had reached out to young people via mobile apps. Following the launch of the global channel in English, collaborations with domestic TV channels in the local language should be possible, Bach said.
Bach told German media that the Olympic Channel is being set up in Madrid with around 120 employees and will show a mixture of live sports, back stories of athletes and volunteers, and background information.
A meeting of the IOC’s Executive Board in Montreux, Switzerland, recommended that an all-year Olympics TV Channel be set up.
The IOC has recommended that the proposal be put before the full IOC membership, which is meeting on 8 and 9 December in Monaco for approval.
An IOC statement said it would be contacting “all the relevant stakeholders” over the next few months to gather their opinions and further develop the concept prior to making a decision in December.
The aim of the plan is to appeal to some of the four billion viewers who watch the Olympics when the event takes place, and to help focus viewers on the less popular sports, which tend not to get coverage in between the main Olympics coverage.
One report from the meeting recently of Olympic Games leaders and supporters in Switzerland was that the IOC would act as the moderator or facilitator of the channel, but its national sports federations, national committees as well as broadcasters and sponsors would participate.
