NEW YORK—As more sports viewing shifts to streaming, NBCUniversal continues to reevaluate its strategies for distributing its sports coverage and has confirmed that it plans to shut down the Olympic Channel in September. 

“In order to best reach our target audiences, we are reevaluating our programming distribution strategy regarding the content that currently airs on Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA with our partners at the IOC and USOPC,” an NBC Sports spokesperson confirmed to TV Tech. “We will be announcing our exciting new plans for Olympic content in the fall.”

The move comes after the company announced plans last year to shut down NBCSN and it launched a direct-to-consumer streaming service from its NESN regional sports network in June of 2022. 

NBCU has long term U.S. rights to the Olympics through 2032 games and launched the Olympic Channel with the U.S. Olympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee as minority partners. 

News of the shutdown was first reported in Sports Business Journal. 

MADRID—As the countdown to the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang continues, the Olympic Channel wants to offer its viewers a special look into what it takes to compete as an athlete during the games through a new original virtual reality series. “Trending Gold” is a seven-episode, multi-part series that will premiere Thursday, Jan. 4.

“Trending Gold” is filmed entirely in 360 VR and was produced exclusively for the Olympic Channel by Jaunt. The series gives fan a first-hand look at the life of an athlete who prepares for the Winter Olympics. Additional immersive content will include 360-degree video, behind-the-scenes episodes and other short-form videos, all of which will be available on the global platform. Full episodes can be viewed on major VR headset systems, as well as the Jaunt mobile app.

The show features nine athletes and Olympic hopefuls representing six countries who will participate in snowboard big air, alpine skiing, short track speed skating and bobsled. The athletes include Jamie Anderson (USA) and Max Parrot (Canada), who will compete in snowboarding; the first ever Continental African bobsled team from Nigeria—Seun Adigun, Ngozi Onwumere and Akuoma Omeoga; alpine skiers Luca Aerni (Switzerland) and Ilka Stuhec (Slovenia); and speed skaters Ye Jin Kim and Dae Heon Hwang (South Korea).

Two episodes will be devoted to the Nigerian bobsled team, the snowboarders and alpine skiers, with the final episode following the Korean speed skaters.

All episodes will be available on olympicchannel.com and on its mobile apps.

The 2018 Winter Olympics will take place from Feb. 9-Feb. 25.

MADRID—The 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea may be more than a year away, but U.S. fans of the Olympics won’t have to wait that long to dive back in to the stories and events that help make the games what they are. The International Olympic Committee (IOC), United States Olympic Committee (USOC), and NBCUniversal have announced the creation of a linear Olympic Channel that will launch in the U.S. in the second half of 2017.

Branded “Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA,” the new channel will offer year-round Olympic-sport programming from around the world, with an emphasis on American athletes and teams. This new channel will be a complement to the previously announced Olympic Channel OTT service that launched at the end of the 2016 Summer Olympics held this past August in Rio de Janeiro.

Content will include live sporting events from the portfolios of both the summer and winter games, as well as Olympic-themed original content produced by the IOC, USOC and NBCU. In addition, NBCU platforms will gain additional coverage of Olympic sport programs, starting with the Team USA Winter Champions Series that kicks off Saturday, Dec. 17. Further details about content will be provided at a later date.

“We are currently producing about 250 hours per year of original programming from our headquarters in Madrid,” said Mark Parkman, general manager for the Olympic Channel, during a conference call announcing the channel. “We’ve already contracted with 50 different companies from 25 different countries to produce some of this programming. I would say it’s a very ambitious plan from a content perspective.”

Specific details about availability of the channel were also revealed during the conference call. The channel will be part of the NBCU distribution portfolio going forward. The channel will currently be on AT&T/DirecTV (though not its OTT service DirecTV Now); discussion are currently underway with other MVPDs. There will be no OTT offering of the channel—it will be available through TV Everywhere devices, but user authentication will be required—though content will be available on-demand through the three partners.

“With the Olympics gams already the biggest event on the planet, this is a terrific way to grow what we refer to as the movement,” said Jim Bell, executive producer for NBC Olympics, during the call. “From a production and programming standpoint it’s tremendous to have some new found real-estate and be able spread the gospel outside of two weeks every two years.”

We see this as a really important part of the strategy to create continuity around the Olympic content, whether it’s the sports, the athletes, and some of the great stories that begin to be told during the Olympics but don’t necessarily end with the closing ceremony,” said Gary Zenkel, president of NBC Olympics.

MADRID—The Olympic Games are over, but don’t let that stop you from getting your fill of Olympic action anymore, as the International Olympic Committee has officially launched the Olympic Channel. This new free digital platform, which was first announced in July, providing Olympic-related content year-round to fans through an Android or iOS mobile app or at olympicchannel.com was made live following the Closing Ceremony to the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

The Olympic Channel features original shows, news and highlights from around the world. One of the first programs available is “Viva 2016,” a behind-the-scenes-look at the production of the Rio Opening Ceremony. The platform will also showcase Olympic athletes and sports beyond the Olympic Game period. Fans can also follow the Olympic Channel on social media, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.

“The launch of Olympic Channel is a key milestone for the Olympic Movement and a result of Olympic Agenda 2020,” said Thomas Bach, IOC president. “It is the start of an exciting, new journey for athletes, fans and generations to connect with sport and the Olympic values every day of the year.”

MADRID—If you find yourself still excited for more Olympics after the closing ceremony on Aug. 21, the International Olympic Committee has your back, as it will launch the new OTT Olympic Channel. The new streaming service will be available worldwide through a mobile app for both Android and iOS devices, and at olympicchannel.com.

The Olympic Channel will provide original programming, live sports, new and highlights year round. Programming will consist of both short- and long-form content, focusing on international athletes. Content will also be available on demand and individual sports will have their own pages. The app will initially be offered in English, but will provide subtitles in nine other languages.

The Olympic Channel will be a free digital platform. It’s social media handles for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube are currently live.

The 2016 Summer Olympics will take place from Rio de Janeiro from Aug. 5-21.

Read more about how broadcasters are covering the Rio Games at our Live@TheRioOlympics social media hub.