Concerned about an aging TV audience for the Games, Olympic authorities "are working on a channel aimed at young people," according to Alex Duff of BLOOMBERG. The proposal "was first made" in '94 by IOC President Thomas Bach. IOC execs in December agreed to spend $600M over seven years on the year-round channel, and its execs "will get a progress report at a three-day meeting in Rio de Janeiro that starts Thursday." The organization "has reserves" of about $980M. Olympic Broadcasting Services CEO Yiannis Exarchos, who is overseeing the project, said, "We need to take some risks and it’s better to take risks now because we’re stronger than we’ve ever been." Exarchos said that the channel "will focus on athletes, as the IOC’s regular broadcast partners provide coverage of live competition." Olympic Broadcastering Services" provides live streams to TV stations during the games." Exarchos: "The personalities of athletes, their lifestyles, are something very, very attractive." Exarchos said that the new channel’s programs might be "edgier" than would be expected from the IOC. Ian Henry, professor at the Center for Olympic Studies and Research at the U.K.’s Loughborough University, said that Bach "faces a challenge in trying to make Olympic sports more popular with young people." Henry: "The audience for the games has been getting older and that’s a key concern for the IOC. But what remains to be seen is whether they can find a key place in the market -- it’s a crowded market." The Olympic channel "will begin on the Internet and look to share content with TV stations." London-based market researcher Ovum TV analyst Ed Barton said that targeting web users "will be more effective in capturing a young audience." The channel "will hire about 100 production and technical staff and be broadcast from Madrid." Barton: "The biggest cost for a modern sports channel is almost always in the rights deals. So given that they’ll be relying on their own rights, it doesn’t sound unfeasible" (BLOOMBERG, 2/25).
