Madrid, Spain - Bringing fans and viewers closer to the Olympic Movement all year round, the Olympic Channel and Claro Sports last week announced a new partnership that features both linear and digital programming across 17 territories in Latin America.
The agreement includes broadcasted programming hours under the Olympic Channel brand on the Claro Sports channel and the OTT platform Claro video, as well as a digital portal dedicated to the Olympic Channel at Marca Claro. Programming includes year-round coverage of Olympic sports and athletes, including Olympic Channel original programming, content related to the Olympic Games on Claro Sports and new content that highlights locally relevant stories created by both parties.
"We are thrilled to collaborate with Claro Sports to deliver the Olympic Channel experience to their viewers," said Mark Parkman, General Manager of the IOC's global Olympic Channel. "Our partnership with Claro Sports gives us a powerful position in Latin America to further engage fans and new audiences with the Olympic Movement as we continue to deepen our relationships with viewers around the world."
"Having the Olympic Channel represented in our programming will be a big step to connect the Latin American audience with the values of Olympism, beyond the Olympic Games," said Arturo Elias Ayub, Claro Sports CEO.
The agreement marks a key distribution partnership for the Olympic Channel across Latin America and runs through 2024 complementing Claro Sports media rights agreement with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for the Olympic Games and Youth Olympic Games. Territories included in the partnership are Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, The Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.
The new strategic distribution partnership complements the Olympic Channel global digital over-the-top (OTT) platform, which launched following the Closing Ceremony of the Olympic Games Rio 2016.
Through collaborations with the IOC's rights-holding broadcast partners and National Olympic Committees, the Olympic Channel is developing localized versions leading to more personalized experiences for Olympic fans around the world.
Last month, it was announced that the Olympic Channel had become available on connected television devices for Android TV and Apple TV.
The network has also been launched on the streaming service Roku this month and further announcements on additional devices are scheduled to be made "in due course."