DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS & EUROSPORT ANNOUNCE FIRST OF ITS KIND OLYMPIC GAMES PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITY FOR MOBILE OPERATORS – ‘OFFICIAL MOBILE BROADCASTER’

As the exclusive TV and multimedia rights holder for 50 countries and territories in Europe for the 2018 through to the 2024 Olympic Games, Discovery Communications and Eurosport are utilizing their own free-to-air, pay TV, digital and direct-to-consumer services as well as striking broad partnerships with other big distributors across Europe to bring the Olympic Games to more viewers and across more screens than ever before.

The “Official Mobile Broadcaster” designation will give mobile providers the exclusive opportunity to co-brand with the Olympic Rings and offer their customers anytime access to all the action.  The service will be customized to drive engagement, with an operator-branded 24/7 channel featuring the best of the Olympics including real time highlights and all the latest news, in addition to exclusive on demand content, and the ability to leverage this content to activate fans and communities on social. All this will be available before, during and after the Olympic Games.

Jean-Briac Perrette, President and CEO, Discovery Networks International, said, “For more than 30 years, Discovery has worked with the best partners to provide premium video content for every person, on every platform. Sports are particularly powerful in a mobile environment as we are witnessing with the growth of our direct-to-consumer sports streaming service, Eurosport Player.  We are excited to form new partnerships with mobile operators to make the Olympic Games more accessible and engaging for a mobile-first audience.”

Eurosport Player broke yet another monthly subscriber record in January and continues to see strong double digit growth. With recent mobile partnerships coming on line in coming months including TDC in Denmark, Telekom Romania, and Telenor in Norway, the all-access pass to must-see sport anytime on any device is accelerating its growth.

Discovery also continues to invest in a world class team and platform to deliver the Eurosport Player and Olympic Games viewer experiences. The company announced in the last few months a partnership with and ownership in Europe of the world’s leading streaming platform, BAMTech, and the hiring of Ralph Rivera as Managing Director of Eurosport Digital and Alex Kaplan, as EVP of Commercial for Eurosport Digital. Rivera joined from the BBC where he spent six years as the head of Digital and led on the implementation and operation of BBC iPlayer to deliver the first truly digital Olympic Games for London 2012. Kaplan joined the company from the NBA where he was Senior Vice President of Global Media Distribution.

Rivera said: “Building on Eurosport’s strategy to offer more premium, more local and more exclusive sports, the Eurosport Player provides fans with an all-access pass on any screen. From National to international football, from Grand Slam tennis to the Grand Tours of cycling, from all major winter sports events to the Olympic Winter Games, fans can choose a personalized experience to immerse themselves in every match, every court, every track, every piste, and every bit of the action.”

Discovery & Eurosport at Mobile World Congress

  • Jean-Briac Perrette, President and CEO, Discovery Networks International, will deliver a keynote address entitled ‘Connecting the Main          Event’, 12.30-1.00 on Wednesday, March 1 in Hall 4.

  • Ralph Rivera, Managing Director of Eurosport Digital, will participate in the session, ‘Rights Owners in a Globalised World of Sports –             Maximising Digital Engagement’, 3.30 to 4.20 on Wednesday, March 1 in NexTech Hall (8) Theatre C.

  • All attendees are invited to experience Eurosport Player alongside Discovery VR and Eurosport VR throughout Mobile World Congress in       the NexTech Pavilion (8.0L11 inside Hall 8.0).