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The Olympic Channel has announced two exciting new partnerships to bring fans and viewers closer to the Olympic Movement all year round. First, on 28 July, the Olympic Channel and Discovery Communications unveiled a partnership to engage more young people in Europe, bringing the inspiring human stories of ambition, sacrifice and achievement to a wider audience. The agreement covers 50 markets in Europe, and advances the shared ambition to amplify Eurosport’s live coverage of the Olympic Games with compelling content that connects more audiences with the power of sport and the Olympic Movement 365 days a year. The partnership came into effect on 2 August, and will see Olympic Channel-branded programming hours and content launching on Eurosport and Eurosport Player; a Eurosport presence on the Olympic Channel; an Olympic Channel digital portal on eurosport.com; and digital amplification of content through a dedicated presence on Eurosport’s local Facebook pages and Twitter feeds. On 4 September, the Olympic Channel announced a partnership with beIN MEDIA GROUP, with programming blocks leading to the launch of a 24/7 linear channel on 1 November across 24 Middle East and North Africa (MENA) territories.Under the “Olympic Channel” brand, the partnership began with a daily eight-hour programming block on beIN SPORTS’ free-to-air channel featuring an exclusive preview show providing viewers with a glimpse of some of the exciting stories they can expect.The 24/7 linear channel will offer year-round coverage of Olympic sports and athletes on their quest for success, on a subscription basis. Highlighting the programming on the new co-branded “beIN Sports Home of the Olympic Channel” television network will be live, comprehensive coverage of the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018, which amplifies beIN’s rights-holding broadcast agreement with the IOC for the Olympic Games.Pictured The Olympic Channel’s new partnerships with Discovery Communications and beIN MEDIA GROUP will amplify coverage of the Olympic GamesAbove The new linear channel will showcase American athletes such as snowboarder Chloe KimOn 15 July, the “Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA” launched in more than 35 million homes in the United States. A partnership between the IOC, the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and NBCUniversal, the new TV network represents the first localised version of the IOC’s global Olympic Channel. It will provide a more personalised experience to fans in the United States by offering year-round programming that emphasises their favourite American athletes and teams, and showcases live events from a broad portfolio of summer and winter Olympic sports. “We are extremely excited about the launch of our first national television channel, which is one of the major milestones of the evolution of the Olympic Channel,” commented Mark Parkman, General Manager of the Olympic Channel. “It’s been an incredible effort and it speaks volumes for the commitment that NBC and the USOC have to the Olympic Movement.”‘HOME OF TEAM USA’ DEBUTS ON OLYMPIC CHANNELOLYMPIC CHANNEL LAUNCHES EXCITING NEW PARTNERSHIPSOLYMPIC REVIEW 17