Olympic Channel Launching July 15 With 35M Homes

The Olympic Channel will launch July 15 in more than 35 million homes, said NBCUniversal, which is partnering with the International Olympic Committee and the U.S. Olympic Committee in the new network.

The channel will be available to most subscribers of Altice, AT&T, DirecTV, Comcast, Spectrum and Verizon at launch. The linear feed will also be streaming on DirecTV Now, Fubo, Hulu, Sony PlayStation Vue and YouTube TV.

"The launch of our first national television channel is an exciting new chapter in the evolution of our global platform," said Mark Parkman, general manager of the IOC's global Olympic Channel. "Through our partnership with the USOC and NBCUniversal, the Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA will ensure that U.S. audiences are able to further discover, engage and share in the power of sport and the excitement of the Olympic Games all year round."

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The channel—officially known as "The Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA"—will offer fans year-round programming of Olympic sports from around the world, highlighting their favorite American athletes and teams. Programming will emphasize live events from a broad portfolio of summer and winter Olympic sports.

"We are thrilled to partner with the IOC and USOC in launching the Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA this summer, with high-quality, world championship programming featuring U.S. stars such as Katie Ledecky right out of the starting blocks," said NBC Olympics president Gary Zenkel. "The fact that the channel has been embraced by the most widely-distributed cable, satellite, and telco providers demonstrates the strength of the Olympic brand in the United States, and will allow fans to connect more closely than ever with the stories and successes of America's favorite Olympic Sports athletes."

The first month of programming on the Olympic Channel will be highlighted by extensive coverage of the 2017 FINA World Championships (swimming and diving) from Budapest, Hungary, in July; the IAAF World Championships (track and field) from London, England, in August; and the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships from Vienna, Austria, in August.

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The Olympic Channel will be live streamed on OlympicChannel.com, the Olympic Channel app, NBCSports.com, and the NBC Sports app. Select replays and highlights will be available on these digital platforms as well as TeamUSA.org.

The Olympic Channel programming complements 400 hours of Olympic sports programming that was already scheduled to air in 2017 on NBC and NBCSN and streamed on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app, as well as on the distributors' on demand and digital platforms.

The formation of the Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA was announced in December 2016 as a ground-breaking collaboration between the IOC, USOC and NBCU to create a comprehensive Olympic content and distribution partnership in the United States.

Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.