DOHA: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) yesterday signed an agreement with beIN Media Group, providing the latter with all media rights to the next four Olympic Games — summer and winter — starting with the XXIII Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang.
beIN Sports will become the exclusive official broadcaster of the Olympic Games across its territories in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) and the broadcast destination to watch all the best sporting moments of the Olympic Games.
The long-term agreement provides beIN Sports with the rights to broadcast the Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang and Beijing in 2018 and 2022, respectively, along with the rights to the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2020 and the Olympic Games in 2024 for which the host is yet to be decided.
beIN Sports is the leading sports and entertainment brand in Mena and owns and distributes 18 linear sports channels across 24 territories in the region, including Free To Air and Pay TV channels along with a 24-hour rolling Sports News Channel. It also delivers content on beIN Connect, its award-winning digital service.
The deal will provide viewers in Mena with live access to the Olympic Games across all broadcast platforms and digital services. The partnership also includes the beIN Media Group and IOC working together on the IOC’s Olympic Channel.
IOC President Thomas Bach said: “I am pleased to welcome our new broadcast partner in the Middle East and North Africa, beIN SPORTS.
“With its excellent track record in broadcasting, we believe that it will provide fantastic coverage across the region of each edition of the Olympic Games, including free-to-air television coverage.
“beIN Sports has also committed to providing unprecedented promotion of Olympic sports all year round, including significant support for the Olympic Channel in the future.”
Nasser Al Khelaifi, Chairman and CEO, beIN Media Group, said: “We are extremely proud to sign this long-term partnership with IOC.
“The Olympic Games are the world’s most treasured sporting event. The agreement reinforces beIN’s position as the undisputed market leader in Mena and reinforces our commitment to provide the most compelling sport content across the region. The agreement shows our commitment to offer beIN Sports viewers the world’s best sports events year round.”
beIN has committed to broadcasting a minimum number of hours of the Olympic Games and the Winter Olympic Games on free-to-air television during the Games period.
While beIN Sports is broadcasting the Rio 2016 Olympic Games through a sub-licensing arrangement, the agreement marks the first direct relationship between the beIN Media Group and IOC. It will enable both parties to work on initiatives to grow broadcast audiences and Olympic values in the region, said a statement yesterday.
The Peninsula
