Discovery Communications has announced a TV and multi-platform broadcast agreement with public broadcaster NOS in the Netherlands.
This deal will make the 2018 and 2020 Olympic Games available to Dutch viewers on both NOS and Eurosport, creating an offering across linear channels and digital products. The announcement follows a deal announced last month between Discovery and the BBC.
The deal means that NOS will sub-license from Discovery Communications free-to-air audio-visual and radio rights for the 2018 and 2020 Olympic Games. NOS said it will broadcast ten hours a day live in 2018 and fourteen hours in 2020. Discovery keeps the streaming rights exclusively, but NOS can offer its broadcast content, live and highlights, on its digital platforms, including NOS.nl and the NOS app.
The NOS package of rights also includes digital rights to the content it broadcasts on its linear TV channel. As part of the NOS agreement, Eurosport has exclusive live rights to two key sports for both the 2018 and 2020 Olympic Games, including ice hockey for the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018. NOS will also be able to broadcast the highlights.
“This agreement with NOS marks another important Olympic Games partnership deal by Discovery, bringing Discovery another step closer on our ambition to deliver more coverage across more screens than ever before.” said JB Perrette, president of Discovery Networks International, “Most importantly, this is a big win for Dutch viewers who will be able to enjoy all the action, whenever and wherever they choose to watch it,” said Perrette.
Jan de Jong, General Director at NOS: “We have been broadcasting the Olympic Games since 1964, and are delighted that this new agreement with Discovery enables us to continue this long-term relationship with the world’s biggest sports event. This agreement is hugely beneficial to the Dutch audience as it makes the Olympics more accessible for more viewers for a further five years. Our clear focus has always been to tell the whole story. We are covering all sporting disciplines and the individual athletes on their four-year road to the Olympics on a day-to-day basis. And therefore it’s essential that we also attend their ‘moment supreme’, not only this summer in Rio, but in 2018 and 2020 as well.”
Alco de Jong, Country Manager, Discovery Networks Benelux, added; “NOS has a rich Olympic Games heritage and continues to successfully showcase Dutch sporting achievements. Together with NOS, Eurosport will share stories with the Dutch audience that follow moments of human achievement and generate pride for the Games, enriching the viewers’ experience with more coverage of our national heroes.”
The Olympic Games are highly valued and hugely popular with TV audiences. The London 2012 Olympic Games were watched by more than 13.4 million people (88% of the population) in The Netherlands, while 14 million people (91% of the population) watched the winter edition of 2014 in Sochi on television via NOS.
The news follows an agreement announced by Discovery Communications and the International Olympic Committee last June, which includes exclusive multimedia rights for 50 countries and territories in Europe for the 2018 through the 2024 Olympic Games.
