SCOTT YOUNG PREVIEWS ONE YEAR TO GO PARIS 2024 CONTENT

As we mark One Year to Go today, tell us about the new content Warner Bros. Discovery is releasing as part of the Road to Paris 2024?
This is a momentous occasion for us but it’s not about 17 days next year, it’s about 12 months and how we fill out the amazing slate of content between now and when the Olympic kicks off in Paris.

It’s about taking people on a journey and our role in the Olympics is to tell the stories of the athletes. To be there when they celebrate their goals and those momentous occasions they have with their friends and family which many athletes have not been able to do as Covid has had a big impact on the last couple of Olympics.

So our Olympics kicks off with Paris, La Vie Sportive which is a commissioned documentary which shows the amazing impact the Olympics has had in Paris since 1924 when it was last held there to 2024 next year and what happened to Paris and France during that arc. It’s an amazing documentary, narrated by Theirry Henry who is not only very clever at football but also languages - in English, French and Spanish so when that kicks off, I think it’s going to be a spectacular beginning of our road to, what will be an amazing Olympics.

We also have The Olympians which again follows the further journeys of athletes; The Power of Sport which is going to have a particular Olympic flavour, and as we get closer to next year, in January we are going to have The Super Six which is a phenomenal documentary on six amazing athletes and their journey to Paris.

How does Paris 2024 fit into WBD Sports’ summer next year?
It’s quite an amazing timeline and as we’re experiencing right now, we really hit our stride when the Giro started, the Giro d’Italia. We get into Roland-Garros, which is also going to play a major role in the Olympics, we then hit Wimbledon then the Tour de France which has just finished for this year.

That amazing run of content that then launches on July 26th, which will see an opening ceremony unlike anybody has seen before at the Olympics. The Paris Organising Committee wanted to find something revolutionary to launch the Games and they’ve certainly found a way to do it.

So I think we will see a spectacular summer of sport that continues to build the narrative into the Olympics. So alongside tennis and cycling which are extremely important, we’re going to see those athletes come out a different way not just for themselves but for their country when they are competing in Paris.

Can you give us a flavour of what we can expect from Warner Bros. Discovery’s Games-time coverage?
We’re going to have an immersive coverage of the Olympics. Our role is to make sure that if you love the Games, you can see every minute of every sport that is covered. So for 32 sports across 329 Olympic events, and of course in our 20 languages in nearly 50 markets across Europe that we broadcast in, that if you’re an Olympic fan, you can watch a dedicated live sport across our streaming platforms, or can choose to sit back and enjoy the Olympics on Eurosport’s channels, then you can sit back with your favourite drink on the coach and watch it sail by.

But our real plan is to be immersive. We’re going to be in this phenomenal city of Paris and some of the most famous landmarks in Paris will be turned into Olympic venues. One example is beach volleyball under the Eiffel Tower, which is going to be absolutely spectacular. You’ll see equestrian at Versailles; fencing at Grand Palais. You’re going to see some of the most highly regarded venues that tourists and even locals love to go to turned into spectacular Olympic venues.

But for us, it’s about the athletes’ journeys and we’re going to have a very special Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe home which we will release soon, and we’ll have athletes come and tell us their stories about the Games in different markets across Europe.

The Olympic Games are one of the greatest platforms for storytelling we have in the world of sport. What is going to be the point of difference for viewers coming to Warner Bros. Discovery? If you’re watching on Eurosport or coming to WBD’s digital platforms like discovery+, what is that point of difference going to be?
The first point of difference is, it’s on your time, on your own favourite platforms. It will be totally immersive, which means you can sit at home and watch it on our linear channels or you can watch it on any one of our portable streaming channels. You can watch it on Eurosport’s App or our .com platforms. You can watch the written word, you can watch the video, you can watch the clips.

And our own digital teams that will be all across Paris, France, and surfing in Tahiti. It’s that no stone will be left unturned. We don’t really focus on what everybody else is doing, what we focus on is that we have the ability to unearth the Olympics in every form possible.

If you’re a sports fan, and the Olympics draws in a very new sports fan every four years for the Summer Games, then it’s going to be a very immersive experience.

Programming schedule to mark one year until Paris 2024, Wednesday 26 July
20:00-20:30 CEST: One Year To Dream on Eurosport 1 and discovery+ (selected markets)
20:30-21:30 CEST: Paris, La Vie Sportive (Part 1) on Eurosport 1 and discovery+ (selected markets)
21:30-22:30 CEST: Paris, La Vie Sportive (Part 2) on Eurosport 1 and discovery+ (selected markets)
22:30-22:40 CEST: The Olympians on Eurosport 1 and discovery+ (selected markets)