International Olympic Committee Wants to Sell Rights to Qualifying Events as Well as the Games Themselveves
International Olympic Committee Wants to Sell Rights to Qualifying Events as Well as the Games Themselveves
The Olympics’ broadcasting rights in the United States belong to NBCUniversal, but whoever gets them next could show qualifying events as well as the actual games.
The Olympic Games are the pinnacle of international sports competitions. Athletes from all over the world train their whole lives for a shot at competing in the Olympics, and many tragically never make it past the qualifying stages, as the bar for entry is incredibly high.
- The International Olympic Committee (IOC) wants to sell broadcast rights to Olympic qualifiers in upcoming rights negotiations.
- The IOC believes this will help boost engagement with the Games while audiences wait two years for the next Games to air.
- NBCUniversal holds the rights to the Olympics in the United States until 2032; Peacock will stream every single event of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Boosting Engagement Between Olympics
If the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has its way, audiences will soon get a first-hand look at how truly difficult it is to qualify for the Olympics. A new report from Sports Business indicates that the IOC wants to package broadcast rights for Olympic qualifying events together with the rights to the Games themselves in the future.
The logic behind the move is that the IOC will be able to boost engagement for future Olympic Games by showing users the qualifying events, as well. Fans will become even more attached to their favorite athletes as they follow them through the process and will stay engaged with Olympic sports as they await the next installment of the Games, whether they be Summer or Winter.
Who Owns the Rights to the Olympics in the United States?
In the U.S., NBCUniversal holds the rights to the Olympic Games until 2032. That means that NBC and its affiliated channels will be responsible for broadcasting the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, but cord-cutting fans don’t have to worry about missing out.
In May of this year, NBCU announced that every single event of the 2024 Paris Olympics, including many that won’t be shown on TV for lack of room in the schedule, will be available to stream live on Peacock. The service will also offer on-demand replays, complete NBC coverage, curated video clips, exclusive content, virtual channels, and more in an attempt to provide the most thorough and comprehensive coverage of the Games ever.
It’s unclear if the already-signed broadcasting agreement will preclude NBCU from packaging Olympic qualifying events with the Games themselves until 2032. NBC does already show some Olympic qualifiers, including the recent 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics competition in Belgium. The IOC and NBCU could always negotiate an addendum to their deal to add more Olympic qualifying events to NBC’s schedule until the Olympic broadcasting rights come up for sale in the U.S. after 2032.
Peacock
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