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The International Olympic Committee awarded free-TV rights to the Games to the European Broadcasting Union, with Warner Bros. Discovery’s holding exclusive pay-TV and streaming rights for the tournaments.
By Scott Roxborough
Europe Bureau Chief
Warner Bros. Discovery and pan-national broadcasting group the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) have secured all rights in Europe to the Olympic Games from 2026 through 2032.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Monday unveiled that it has approved a joint bid from the EBU and Warner Bros. Discovery which will give the two groups the rights to the games across 49 European territories, starting with the XXV Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo in Italy in 2026, and continuing through the XXXV Summer Olympics in Brisbane, Australia, in 2032. The rights cover both Summer and Winter Games as well as the Youth Olympic Games for the period.
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The EBU, whose members include such national broadcasters as the BBC and ITV in the U.K., ARD and ZDF in Germany, Italy’s RAI and France Télévisions, 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 additional content carried on radio, online, on social media and live streaming platforms.
Warner Bros. Discovery will hold all pay-TV and subscription streaming rights for the Games, with content going out on its sports and entertainment streaming service Discovery+, and pan-European Eurosport channels.
“This deal is a game-changer for public service media and demonstrates the abiding strength and solidarity of our Union,” said Delphine Ernotte Cunci, president of the EBU and CEO of France Télévisions, noting that EBU broadcasters have the potential to reach more than 1 billion viewers across their linear and nonlinear platforms. “And that’s why I’m so pleased to welcome this partnership with the IOC and Warner Bros. Discovery, which will ensure the Games will be available to the widest possible audience across Europe.”
Andrew Georgiou, president and managing director for Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe, said the deal, which extends WBD’s Olympics rights deal, reinforces the studio’s position as the “Home of the Olympics in Europe.” According to WBD figures, some 372 million people across Europe engaged with content connected to the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, 175 million of them on Warner Bros. Discovery platforms. The 2022 Winter Games in Beijing recorded a total of 156 million viewers in Europe, a new record for the tournament.
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