Eurosport’s parent company Discovery Communications has agreed to sublicense some of its U.K. Olympic broadcast rights for ’22 and ’24 to the BBC. Eurosport CEO Peter Hutton announced the channel’s first Olympic sublicense deal at SpoBiS conference in Dusseldorf, Germany, on Tuesday. “We have the first deal done,” he said. “[It’s] a great sign that we can work with public broadcasters trying to maximize the visibility of the Games, and respect the tradition and the heritage the Olympics shows.” In return, the BBC agreed to sublicense the exclusive pay-TV rights for the ’18 and ’20 Games to Discovery. The two global media companies have been working together for 30 years, including joint ventures like Animal Planet. The long history between Discovery and the BBC played a role in the decision, Hutton said. The U.S. company surprised many industry experts last year when it snagged all TV and multi-platform broadcast rights in Europe for the four Olympic Games between ’18-24 in a €1.3B deal.
MORE IN THE WORKS: While Discovery stated that it would work with broadcasters to keep the Olympics on free-to-air TV, Hutton made it clear it does not necessarily have to sublicense its rights to another media company. “It may be kept on our own channels,” he said. “Particularly in the Scandinavian markets for example. We have very strong free-to-air business there where we certainly want to show the Olympics on those free-to-air channels.” The company’s philosophy in deciding on potential license deals or partnerships is its aim to have everything available in the best possible way, Hutton added. Discovery is also in negotiations with German public broadcasters ARD and ZDF, but it is leaving the door open to other free-TV networks in the country. "It’s not just about offering to ARD and ZDF," Hutton said. "It’s offering to all the free-to-air broadcasters in Germany and allowing everyone to have a chance to see if they can get involved in the rights." Eurosport has been undergoing a complete rebrand since Discovery took complete ownership of the pan-European sports network. Landing the IOC rights was a big coup for the network, which was struggling to keep up with the changing media landscape. “I think Eurosport has changed and I don’t think people realized how fast it has changed and that gave us an opportunity,” he said. The European Broadcasting Union -- an alliance of public media entities -- was stunned when it lost the Olympic rights to Eurosport and Discovery. However, Hutton made clear Eurosport does not position itself in opposition to the EBU or its members. Moreover, it is looking for ways to cooperate with the organization and its member broadcasters. Hutton did not reveal financial terms of Discovery’s deal with the BBC.
NEW MODEL: In London, Owen Gibson wrote as part of the deal the BBC "agreed to grant Discovery exclusive pay TV rights to the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang and the 2020 Games in Tokyo." So while the BBC "will have less extensive coverage than was the case at London 2012 it will still be able to fill up to two channels a day with live coverage and highlights." Meanwhile, Discovery "will market itself as the only place to watch every last moment across an array of live and on demand services." The new model "will kick in from the 2018 Games onwards" (GUARDIAN, 2/2). Also in London, Ben Rumsby wrote the deal "makes this year’s summer Games in Rio" the last to which the BBC will hold the exclusive rights. Both broadcasters insisted that "all major moments at the Olympics, such as British triumphs, would continue to be shown live free-to-air." Securing the Games was the BBC’s top priority "following the latest round of swingeing cuts to its sports rights budget." But "there are no limits on the number of hours of footage it can transmit, nor on its ability to switch between events in order to ensure it captures all the big moments live." BBC Dir General Tony Hall said, "While the BBC has had to take some tough financial decisions, this partnership underlines our commitment to making world class sport available to all" (TELEGRAPH, 2/2).
BBC STATEMENT: BBC Sport Dir Barbara Slater: "The deal ensures that all the most popular moments from the Winter Games in 2022 and the Summer Games in 2024 will be available on the BBC to the widest possible audience. ... Covering an Olympic Games isn’t cheap and that requires a number of staff on-site to produce the quality of coverage that audiences expect from an Olympic broadcaster. So the BBC and Discovery have also agreed to explore the potential for combining our production operations with a view to better serving our audiences and sharing efficiencies from working together. ... This ground-breaking partnership is another example of how the BBC is seeking creative ways to continue to bring the very best in sport to licence fee payers" (BBC).
