Discovery Communications is "pitching" Eurosport as the new home of the Olympics and "prying audiences away from free-to-view alternatives," according to Tony Connelly of THE DRUM. Discovery CEO Peter Hutton maintains this will be "driven by its depth of coverage coupled with a greater sense of narrative around the sports and athletes competing." As part of its marketing as the new "Home of the Olympic Games," Eurosport has been "strategically deepening its ties with Olympic sports." This approach saw it "acquire the broadcast rights to all four tennis grand slams, winter sports, cycling, pentathlon and many more." Now, over 50% of its coverage is Olympic sports. Hutton said that the overall aim is to provide "something specialist" for sports audiences and this involves investing in the kind of talent that gives it an "editorial advantage over other channels." Eurosport’s IOC partnership "also grants it the archive of Olympics footage." This "gives it a rich colour palette with which to play" as it "looks to tell stories around the rivalries and struggles which underline the games." Hutton: "The real remit has clearly got to be that we give the viewer a better Olympic experience than they've had previously." Hutton referred to the standoff with Sky as "evidence of the specialist and comprehensive service which Eurosport offers its customers." He said, "During the dispute with Sky we saw a huge volume of social media feedback from really passionate fans who, once they realized that their cycling or skiing might not be on Sky, were very vocal in their support" (THE DRUM, 3/13).
