SuperSport launches Olympic channel content on digital platforms in Sub-Saharan Africa

by Vautz

With the countdown to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 underway, SuperSport has debuted Olympic Channel content on their digital platforms further engaging DStv and GOtv audiences with the Olympic Movement all year round. 
 
Starting today (June 13), the Olympic Channel section will be available on supersport.com offering fans Olympic-themed programming from across the globe, with an emphasis on their favourite local athletes, teams and sports under the “Olympic Channel” brand.
 
In addition to locally-produced features created by SuperSport and social media content, visitors will be able to watch Olympic-themed original series and documentaries produced by filmmakers from around the world commissioned by the global Olympic Channel. Fans will also be able to access breaking news stories on the road to Tokyo 2020 and insights into the next summer edition of the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) set to take place in the Senegalese capital of Dakar in 2022.
 
Original content available includes "APART"  from the award-winning film series “Foul Play”, which features Odessa Swarts and her son, Wayde van Niekerk, sharing their personal journeys in sport against the context of apartheid, and "Africa Cycling Revolution", a lively and entertaining series uncovering a new generation of cyclists and showing how the sport is attracting new audiences in the region.

“With Tokyo 2020 just over a year away, we look forward to further developing our partnership with SuperSport across multiple platforms with the common goal of building excitement for the upcoming Olympic Games through relevant and local content that engages their audience,” said Mark Parkman, General Manager of the IOC’s global Olympic Channel.
 
The new digital presence follows the 2018 launch of Olympic Channel programming blocks on SuperSport in support of their media rights agreement with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for the Olympic Games and Youth Olympic Games through 2024 which also includes the launch of a 24/7 linear Olympic channel prior to Tokyo 2020.
 
Gideon Khobane, Chief Executive of SuperSport, said: “The countdown has begun in earnest for the 2020 Olympic Games and SuperSport is determined to bring the many stories and the vibrant build-up to viewers across the African continent. Doing so via our popular digital platform and the Olympic Channel ensures a wide reach and will complement our linear broadcast offering. Our partnership with the IOC is something we cherish and we look forward to building towards the action in Tokyo, where Africa will be well represented.”
 
The agreement includes distribution in 45 territories in Sub-Saharan Africa including Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, St Helena and Ascension, Swaziland, United Republic of Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Through strategic distribution partnerships with the IOC’s rights-holding broadcast partners and National Olympic Committees, the Olympic Channel is continuing to develop localized versions leading to more personalized experiences for Olympic fans around the world. These partnerships have resulted in an Olympic Channel linear presence in 158 territories which complement the global digital platform at olympicchannel.com, its mobile apps and on select connected TV devices.
 
About the Olympic Channel
The Olympic Channel is a multi-platform global media destination where fans can discover, engage and share in the power of sport and the excitement of the Olympic Games all year round. Offering original programming, news, live sports events and highlights, the Olympic Channel provides additional exposure for sports and athletes 24 hours a day, 365 days a year in 11 languages. The Olympic Channel was launched in August 2016 in support of the IOC’s goal, set out in Olympic Agenda 2020, of providing a new way to engage younger generations, fans and new audiences with the Olympic Movement. Founding Partners supporting the Olympic Channel are Worldwide TOP Partners Bridgestone, Toyota and Alibaba. The Olympic Channel is available worldwide at olympicchannel.com, its mobile apps and on Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV and the Roku platform.
 
Social Media
For more information, please follow the Olympic Channel on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube, or log on to olympicchannel.com.