Although the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is yet to confirm the Nine Network and Stan as Australian media rights holders for Paris 2024, the Olympic Games media rights have been sold to partners in Europe for all Olympic events for 2026-2032.
All media rights in Europe for the four Olympic Games in the 2026-2032 period have been awarded to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and Warner Bros. Discovery.
A deal for coverage of Paris 2024 was previously secured by both the Olympic partners.
Nine Publishing’s Sydney Morning Herald reported late last year that Nine had secured rights for Summer and Winter Olympics for the period 2024 to 2032 which includes the Summer Games in Paris, Los Angeles and Brisbane. However, this deal has yet to be confirmed by either Nine Entertainment or the IOC.
Following the IOC’s launch of a competitive tender for Europe, the EBU and Warner Bros. Discovery presented a joint bid to acquire all media rights across 49 territories in Europe* for the XXV Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, the Games of the XXXIV Olympiad Los Angeles 2028, the XXVI Olympic Winter Games in 2030 and the Games of the XXXV Olympiad Brisbane 2032, as well as for the Youth Olympic Games in the period.
In an IOC statement, 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 per cent 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.”
The IOC noted its first partnership with the EBU and its members dates back to 1956. In 2015, the IOC partnered with Warner Bros. Discovery across Europe for the 2018-2024 Olympic Games.
This new agreement guarantees free-to-air reach for the Games through the EBU’s network of public service broadcasters, the vast majority of which continued Olympic Games coverage across the past three Games in partnership with the IOC and Warner Bros. Discovery.
The FTA partner for the UK will continue to be the BBC. The broadcaster today reported the BBC will offer live and on-demand coverage of both summer and winter editions of the Games on TV, radio, online and digital platforms.
“The Olympic Games is a truly special event – thrilling and inspiring in equal measure,” said BBC director general Tim Davie.
“I’m delighted it will be on free to air for the UK public.”
Starting in 2026, the EBU will hold free-to-air rights on television and digital platforms. Every EBU Member will broadcast 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.
For Warner Bros. Discovery, the announcement extends its position as “Home of the Olympics in Europe” and follows record audiences and digital viewership growth across the past three Olympic Games, with the Olympic Games Paris 2024 ahead. Under the new agreement, it will continue to be the only place to present “every moment” of the Games on its streaming and digital platforms**, such as its leading sports and entertainment streaming service discovery+, and hold full pay-TV rights, including for its owned and operated Eurosport channels.
The IOC detailed how Warner Bros. Discovery and the EBU have a long history of collaborating to deliver complementary coverage of major sporting events, most recently with the International Biathlon Union World Cup and World Championship events, in addition to a host of summer sports events including the World Athletics Championships and cycling’s Tour de France and La Vuelta Grand Tour races.
For the past three editions of the Games, Warner Bros. Discovery oversaw broadcast partnerships with more than 45 free-to-air partners and EBU Members to guarantee broad access to the Games.
Together with its own platforms, this drove record audiences, as 372 million people across Europe engaged with the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, 175 million of whom did so on Warner Bros. Discovery’s platforms such as discovery+, while the number of Europeans who visited its platforms for the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 – 156 million – was over 19 times more than the previous Winter Games edition.
* Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye, Ukraine, United Kingdom and Vatican City State.
** “Every moment” exclusive: Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, France, Georgia, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Türkiye, Ukraine, United Kingdom and Vatican City State. Non-exclusive: Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Norway and Sweden.