Discovery Signs Olympics Deals in Ireland & Croatia

LONDON: As part of its ongoing strategy to make the Olympics available across more screens in Europe, Discovery Communications has inked deals with Ireland’s RTÉ and pubcaster Croatian Radiotelevision (HRT) for the 2018 and 2020 games.

The agreements will see the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Games and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games broadcast on those free-to-air channels. Eurosport, meanwhile, will hold pay-TV broadcast rights in both territories.

The deals come on the heels of sub-licensing agreements with BBC in the U.K., NOS in the Netherlands, YLE in Finland and CTV in the Czech Republic.

Kasia Kieli, the president of Discovery Networks Central & Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, said: “We have secured an innovative partnership in Croatia that will ensure that the Olympic Games remains accessible to the broadest possible audience and delivered to the highest standard for the viewer. The agreement will contribute to Discovery’s goal of delivering more coverage of the Olympic Games, across more screens than ever before.”

Susanna Dinnage, the executive VP and managing director of Discovery Networks UK and Ireland, said: “The deal between Discovery and RTÉ delivers multichannel, multiplatform access to the best of the Olympic Games action, guaranteeing the widest possible audience for the world’s greatest sports event. Our partnership with RTÉ is a win for every fan following Team Ireland in PyeongChang and Tokyo. Our objective is to engage and entertain local audiences with an exceptional Olympic Games experience, working with the finest national partners such as RTÉ.”

In other Olympics news, Discovery has revealed its coverage plan for the Nordics, with a broad range of events planned for Sweden’s channel Kanal 5, together with Eurosport 1 and 2. The Olympic Games will also be broadcast in Norway across free-to-air channel TV Norge, in addition to Eurosport and Eurosport Norge.

“Discovery is a passionate and committed partner of the Olympic Movement, and we have an unmatched ability to use our own portfolio of TV networks and digital products to bring the best moments and every moment of the Olympic Games to people in Norway and Sweden,” said JB Perrette, president of Discovery Networks International.

Additionally, Discovery Communications has been awarded the exclusive TV and multiplatform broadcast rights in Denmark for the UEFA Euro 2020 European Qualifiers and 2022 FIFA World Cup European Qualifiers. Discovery has also landed the rights to broadcast the UEFA Nations League that replaces most friendly internationals.

On the rugby front, Eurosport has nabbed the exclusive worldwide rights outside of France for the French national team’s autumn Test Match series for the next five seasons as part of a deal that will see matches shown on Discovery and Eurosport platforms in Europe and on Setana Asia and RugbyPass in Asia. Other sporting announcements include Eurosport becoming the home of the National Hockey League (NHL) in Russia, with the three-year agreement commencing during the 2016-17 season.