BBC Announce BSKYB Agreement Over 24 HD Olympic Channels

The BBC have made a pact with BSKYB that will see them broadcast 24 Olympic channels on Sky channels, adiposity giving millions of viewers access to 2, decease 500 hours of live sports coverage during the London Olympic Games.

The channels are being made available on a non-exclusive basis throughout this summer’s Olympics, with Sky the first to announce it is part of the agreement.

The BBC were keen to offer their viewers a competitive broadcasting of the London Games with the total coverage, including BBC-specific reports, estimated to equate to around 2,500 hours of content.

Previously the corporation had discussed putting the streams online or behind the Red Button. But under the new plans, cable and satellite providers are able to offer access to the events on their platform.

Sky is creating 48 temporary channels – 24 HD and 24 standard – to carry the footage, running simultaneously at peak times during the games. The BBC-branded channels will launch into the first available slots in Sky’s sports category on the EPG on 24 July.  The HD channels are available on any Sky+HD box and do not require a subscription, but do require an HD-ready TV.

Roger Mosey, director of BBC London 2012, said: “We’re delighted to be able to offer this opportunity to cable and satellite providers to extend our online service to millions of TV viewers across the UK.

“BBC1 and BBC3 will remain the flagship channels for the Olympics. But, as the London 2012 Olympic Games will be the first truly digital games, we wanted to offer an unprecedented amount of live sporting action to the widest possible audience through these 24 live streams, giving vastly more choice than ever before.”