Olympic Channel & Snapchat Team Up for Original Content

Olympic Channel has entered into a multiyear agreement with Snap to bring original programming to Snapchat as part of the Olympic Movement, an initiative to engage younger audiences.

The deal provides Snap with Olympic Channel original programming for Shows on Snapchat’s Discover page and assets for creative tools. In addition, Snapchat will produce Our Stories featuring archival footage provided by the Olympic Channel team, in collaboration with Olympic rights-holding broadcasters during the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018.

Beginning today, Snapchatters can watch the worldwide premiere of the new Olympic Channel original series Far from Home on Snapchat’s Discover page. The multi-part series features unlikely Olympic hopefuls who face financial, political and cultural obstacles as they attempt to qualify for PyeongChang 2018. Following the daily rollout of four episodes produced exclusively for Snapchat in both English and Spanish, the full Far from Home series will debut on the Olympic Channel global digital platform on February 5.

Olympic Channel will also work with Snapchat on creative tools that feature Olympic-themed lenses, filters and stickers, including for PyeongChang 2018. Starting February 9, Snapchatters worldwide will be able to use face lenses featuring the Olympic Channel and PyeongChang 2018 logos, and stickers featuring Soohorang, the official mascot for the Olympic Winter Games. Future plans that the Olympic Channel and Snap are looking to collaborate on include activations outside the Games, as well as the upcoming Buenos Aires 2018 Summer Youth Olympic Games.

“As the Olympic Channel continues to evolve, we are dedicated to creating more personalized experiences for our viewers as we continue to expand our global footprint,” said Mark Parkman, the general manager of the IOC’s global Olympic Channel. “We’re excited to begin this new collaboration with Snapchat, which will allow us to capitalize on its unique distribution platform and creative tools through bespoke, youth-oriented content that reaches our common target audiences.”

“We could not be more excited to collaborate with the Olympic Channel to bring exclusive content from one of the most well-known brands in all of sports to Snapchatters worldwide,” said Ben Schwerin, Snap’s VP of partnerships. “Alongside the Olympic Channel, we hope to inspire our community with the spirit of the Olympic Moment this February and well into the future.”