NBCU pulls plug on Olympic Channel
July 4, 2022
By Chris Forrester
NBC Universal is to close its Olympic Channel. Transmissions, which started in 2017, will end on September 30th.
“In order to best reach our target audiences, we are re-evaluating our programming distribution strategy regarding the content that currently airs on Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA with our partners at the International Olympic Committee and US-OPC,” an NBC Sports spokesperson said in a company statement. “We will be announcing our exciting new plans for Olympic content in the fall.”
NBCU controls the US rights to broadcast the Olympic Games until 2032.
The US Olympic Committee is a minority shareholder in the channel. It served a claimed 47 million homes at the end of last year although Comcast (NBCU’s parent) claims 80 million homes are potentially viewing some of its channels.
Reports suggest that some of the material typically carried on the Olympic Channel will end up on the Peacock premium service.