Advanced Television

Olympic Channel launches Aug 21

July 29, 2016

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced the launch date for its new Olympic Channel, where fans can experience the Olympic Movement all year round. Starting August 21st, after the Closing Ceremony of the Olympic Games Rio 2016, the Olympic Channel platform will be available worldwide via a mobile app for Android and iOS devices and online at olympicchannel.com.

In addition, athletes and fans can follow the Olympic Channel on its newly launched social media handles on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube, and sign up for Olympic Channel updates at olympicchannel.com.

IOC President Thomas Bach said: “The launch of the Olympic Channel on August 21st is the start of an exciting new journey to connect the worldwide audience with the Olympic Movement all year round. Fans will be able to follow sports, athletes and the stories behind the Olympic Games. The Olympic Channel will inspire us all and reach out to new generations of athletes and fans.”

With the goal of providing a new way to engage young people, fans and new audiences in the Olympic Movement, the Olympic Channel is a free platform that will present original programming, live sports events, news and highlights offering additional exposure for sports and athletes all year round. Olympic Channel original programming will include both short-form and long-form content, focusing on elite athletes, their quest for success and sport around the world.

Designed for a global audience, the Olympic Channel digital platform will showcase content from around the world, and will initially be offered in English. Additional features at launch will include fantastic content as video on demand, as well as individual sport pages within a user-friendly and mobile-responsive interface, subtitled in nine different languages.

The Olympic Channel includes an option to register for a more personalised experience, where users can follow their favourite athletes, teams, sports and countries to receive an individually-tailored content selection.

After the launch of the global digital product in August, the Olympic Channel intends to foster partnerships with other Olympic stakeholders, including rights-holding broadcasters and National Olympic Committees to develop localised versions of the Olympic Channel. Localised versions will offer language-specific user experiences on digital platforms, and will also include linear television programming options.

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