Olympics

Discovery Communications has revealed a number of appointments at Eurosport who will support the company’s Olympic Games Strategy.

In June it was announced that Discovery had been awarded the European TV and multiplatform broadcast rights to the 2018-2024 Olympic Games.

The coverage will be overseen by an Olympic Games leadership organisation team. Three of the five team members were announced this week, with Jean-Thierry Augustin leading Commercialisation, David Schafer heading up Operations and Planning and Géraldine Filiol directing Olympic Relations and Coordination.

Since taking command at Discovery Communications in 2007, David Zaslav has conquered the world. The US giant now operates in 230 countries – and is still expanding.

Eurosport was added to its roster of channels in 2014 and the rights to the Olympics Games nabbed this summer.

“We are a global company and more global than any other media company in the world. We have more employees outside the US than we do in the US. We make more money outside the US,” said Zaslav.

It will include stories about the volunteers and athletes, news about the games and background information. And it will be delivered online via Over The Top (OTT) services. 

The IOC President, Thomas Bach, told German media magazine Horizont that he believes in the importance of having appealing content on digital platforms.

Over-the-top hyperbole is usually de rigueur when it comes to unveiling big TV sports-rights deals. But, this summer, when Discovery Chief Executive David Zaslav declared his company’s €1.3bn, pan-European deal with the International Olympic Committee a “game changer”, it seemed more like an understatement.

The contract, which runs from 2018, caused many people’s jaws to drop – while others scratched their heads over its implications. It seemed like another blow to the BBC and its grip on the world’s greatest festival of sport.