EBU, Warner Bros. Discovery Score Olympic Games Deal

The European media rights for the Olympic Games from 2026 to 2032 have been awarded to the European Broadcasting Union and Warner Bros. Discovery.

EBU and Warner Bros. Discovery submitted a joint bid to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for the rights to the 2026 and 2030 winter Olympic Games and the 2028 (Los Angeles) and 2032 (Brisbane) summer events for coverage across 49 territories in Europe. The deal also includes the Youth Olympic Games.

IOC President Thomas Bach said: “We are delighted to have reached a long-term agreement with two of the world’s leading media companies. The EBU and its members provide unparalleled broadcast expertise and reach across Europe, and Warner Bros. Discovery, through the recent combination of Warner Media and Discovery, represents one of the world’s largest media and entertainment companies across all programming genres and platforms. It demonstrates the ongoing appeal of the Olympic Games across Europe. As the IOC redistributes 90 percent of the revenues it generates, this long-term agreement also provides critical financial stability to the wider sporting movement and ultimately supports the athletes themselves.”

EBU members will deliver free-to-air coverage, with each set to provide more than 200 hours of coverage of the Olympic Summer Games and at least 100 hours of the Olympic Winter Games on TV, with a broad range of radio coverage, live streaming and reporting across web, app and social media platforms.

Delphine Ernotte Cunci, president of the EBU and CEO of France Télévisions, noted: “We’re proud to have secured the Olympic Games for audiences to enjoy free to air until 2032. This deal is a game-changer for public service media and demonstrates the abiding strength and solidarity of our Union. Through its members, the EBU has the potential to reach over 1 billion viewers across Europe via linear and nonlinear platforms. And that’s why I’m so pleased to welcome this partnership with the IOC and Warner Bros. Discovery, which will ensure the games will be available to the widest possible audience across Europe.”

Warner Bros. Discovery remains the home of Olympics coverage, inking a deal for the games from 2018 to 2024 in 2015. It will deliver coverage on its streaming and pay-TV platforms. Andrew Georgiou, president and managing director for Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe, noted: “As the ‘Home of the Olympics in Europe’ for the last three Olympic Games, we are pleased to be extending our relationship with the IOC through 2032. Ahead of what promises to be a magnificent Olympic Games Paris 2024, we are delighted that Warner Bros. Discovery will remain the only place where fans can get every moment of the following four Olympics. We are grateful to be partnering with the EBU and its members on the next stage of our Olympic journey, extending our commitment made together with the IOC in 2015 to reach more people through broad-reaching and accessible coverage. Viewers throughout Europe will continue to have extensive choice and the ability to access the games across multiple platforms, setting an outstanding foundation to build on the record audience and engagement delivered for Europe for the past three games.”