BBC and Discovery Agree Long-Term Olympic Games Deal

The BBC has signed a long-term Olympic Games agreement with Discovery Communications to be the exclusive free to air Olympic broadcaster in the UK for the next five Games.

The deal means that the BBC will sub-license (from Discovery) exclusive free-to-air audio-visual and non-exclusive radio rights to the 2022 and 2024 Olympic Games.

In turn, Discovery will sub-license (from the BBC) exclusive pay-TV rights in the UK to the 2018 and 2020 Olympic Games.

Additionally, the BBC’s package of rights is supplemented by digital rights to the content it broadcasts on TV.

This agreement marks the first Olympic Games sub-licensing deal by Discovery, who promised to sign sub-licence deals in several markets across Europe to make the Olympic Games accessible to a wider audience.

The news follows an agreement announced by Discovery Communications and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) last June, which includes exclusive multimedia rights for 50 countries and territories in Europe for the 2018 through the 2024 Olympic Games.

The rights for the UK were included for only 2022 and 2024, as these rights had already been secured by the BBC in the UK.

David Zaslav, President and CEO of Discovery Communications, says: “Today’s agreement is a win for UK sports fans and marks an exciting new chapter in Discovery and the BBC’s partnership on major sporting events.”

Barbara Slater, Director of BBC Sport, says: “We are very pleased that the BBC will continue to bring free-to-air Olympic Games coverage to audiences through to 2024, extending our relationship with the event which began in 1928 and reinforcing the BBC’s long-term commitment to major sporting events.”

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