Digital, local, personal: Discovery outlines grand plan for Tokyo Olympic Games broadcast coverage By Heather McLean, Editor
Friday, July 16, 2021 - 11:55
Print This Story
Discovery is set to bring the Tokyo Olympics to Europe from its new-look Cube
Discovery has outlined its European broadcast plans for the Tokyo Olympics, which marks its first ever Summer Games for the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
From its linear channels including Eurosport, to a personalised experience on Discovery Plus, social media offerings and the new enhanced Cube read more about the Cube here the broadcaster is hoping to make this the most viewed Summer Olympics in Europe, ever.
Andrew Georgiou, president of sports at Discovery, states: The IOC and the organising committee in Japan and the Japanese people have had a really long journey, but we're at the doorstep of the world's biggest event. And we're really excited; the athletes have been preparing, they've been training, the athletes are ready, the venues are ready and we're ready.
The Olympics provides an awesome canvas to tell some great stories and we don't know what those stories are going to be yet, and that's part of the excitement. We're certainly planning to tell those stories and we have a great opportunity to do so, he says.
All Discovery content will be available across a number of channels, from linear TV to Discovery Plus for a personalised experience, a UHD channel, and social media. British cycling champion and on-screen talent, Bradley Wiggins is shown here in the Cube using its new analytics powers
Bold ambition
We definitely want to make sure that these Summer Games are viewed by more people across Europe than any Summer Games in history, continues Georgiou. That's a bold ambition and I think we're going to achieve that, and one of the reasons we can achieve that is because we've got a really big breadth of coverage and Discovery's coverage of the games, in addition to all the local national broadcasters, means Discovery, Discovery Plus, and Eurosport are the only places right across Europe where you can watch every unmissable moment and that's going to make us a real destination.
It means that people can see it across all of our digital platforms. That means they can see it when they want, they can watch it where they want, on any device they want. And that's a Discovery selling point for sure, he says.
We'll be using all of our platforms, both paid, owned and operated platforms, to point people to Discovery Plus as being the best place to enjoy the Olympics, because it will be the only place in each of those markets where you'll be able to get everything
As to the challenges of the current global pandemic situation, and the fact the Japanese government recently announced a state of crisis in the country, Scott Young, Discovery's senior vice president of content and production who spoke to SVG Europe from the IOC IBC in Tokyo, says: That's a huge complexity that we're dealing with and we're dealing with the changes of that every day. Every day we sit down with OBS and the other key broadcasters that are here and work through the changes that are still unfolding in front of us.
Georgiou states: Discovery is pretty excited about the games, our first summer Olympics. We're really looking forward to it. We thought we were going to do it last year, of course, but we're excited. There's been loads of challenges in terms of getting people on the ground, and we've certainly adjusted our production plans in terms of meeting some of the hurdles and some of those challenges, and being respectful of the folks in Japan as well. So there's been lots to do despite having an extra 12 months to do it, because kind of everything has changed. It's difficult to know what to expect.
I'm leaving on Saturday for Tokyo so I'm fascinated to see what it's going to be like on the ground during a quite unique Olympic moment.
The new-look Discovery Cube is set to blow minds, from incorporating the weather in Tokyo that day, to showing the spectacular Tokyo skyline, and following the Japanese clock with night to day effects
Storytelling expertise
On how Discovery is going to attract those viewers, Young comments: It comes down to storytelling. We're here for the athlete's journey and we want to live every moment of that. To do that we've amassed the most impressive broadcasting team I've seen; we've got over 150 talented presenters and athletes and experts; that's totalling 198 Olympic appearances, 84 medals in total, 30 of those gold.
So that's an extraordinary amount of depth and breadth of we're going to bring you across our markets, Young continues. That's topped up with 400 commentators who be commentating just over 6,300 sessions, so you won't miss the Olympics across what we're doing and we've got teams out in venues, beaming back into their home base here in Tokyo, that then is fed directly back into their markets back at home. So our content is going to be immersive and the storytelling is going to be magnificent.
Young comments on the size of Discovery's operation from Japan to Europe: The scale of our project is enormous, not just in what we're doing here in Tokyo, but how we broadcast back across Europe. Traditionally, our content is seen by about 130 million people each month. We have our linear channels, we've got our subscription channels, we've also got our Discovery Plus channels and .com channels and the Eurosport Player.
How we send content around our platforms and our market across Europe is unlike any other broadcaster, Young continues. We are the most complex sports broadcaster in the world, and we have 50 marke
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
13/05/2026
New Adobe Premiere Color Grading Mode Accelerated on NVIDIA GPUs
Joel Pennington May 13, 2026
0 Comments
New NVIDIA RTX-accelerated features streamlin...
13/05/2026
Grass Valley announced that dB Broadcast has delivered new IP-based outside broadcast (OB) trucks for Cloudbass, featuring Grass Valley LDX 100 Series cameras a...
13/05/2026
Ikegami will exhibit the latest additions to its wide range of broadcast production cameras, control units, viewfinders and monitors on stand 5D3-1 at Broadcast...
13/05/2026
FISE, working with the founding members of the XR Sports Alliance (XRSA), Accedo, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and HBS, have collaborated to develop an immersive...
13/05/2026
Canon Unveils New EOS R6 V Full-Frame EOS Camera and RF20-50mm F4 L IS USM PZ Bu...
13/05/2026
Boston Conservatory at Berklee Honors Beth Morrison and Moses Pendleton at Comme...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Creative software developer Foundry today announced the latest developments on Nuke Stage. A purpose-built application for end-to-end virtual production and in-...
13/05/2026
A definitive portrait of one of Ireland's most influential musicians
New TV documentary airs Monday 18 May on RT One and RT Player at 9.35pm
Watch the...
13/05/2026
Agentic AI is changing the way users get work done. Following the success of OpenClaw, the community is embracing new open source agentic frameworks. The latest...
13/05/2026
Reinforcement-learning agents - AI systems that learn by trial and error - can c...
12/05/2026
Beyond the Hype: A Strategic Post-Hoc Analysis of NAB 2026 If NAB Show 2026 had an underlying theme, it was a quiet, industry-wide pivot from the high-energy sp...
12/05/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D), a Panoptec Technologies Group company, and CT Square, led by Chandresh Shah, have announced a joint venture to distribute G&D and V...
12/05/2026
With 30 days until the start of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the tournament in the United States, has announced th...
12/05/2026
The NHL has announced the return of Stanley Pup for its third consecutive year, a 90-minute special featuring adoptable rescue dogs competing on a miniature rin...
12/05/2026
NBCUniversal presented its 2026 Upfront to advertisers at Radio City Music Hall, detailing upcoming programming across NBC, Peacock, Bravo, and Versant properti...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced funding for the Fandom and Social Connection Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Publ...
12/05/2026
TNDV and Live Media, both divisions of Live Media Group, supported live broadcast coverage around NCAA Final Four weekend in Indianapolis, including the March M...
12/05/2026
The European Football Alliance (EFA) has announced a content distribution agreement with Fubo Sports Network, the free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel ...
12/05/2026
For the first time, Spanish-speaking fans in the U.S. will have two separate tel...
12/05/2026
CP Communications led a comprehensive spectrum management initiative on behalf of Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby week, coordinating RF assets across the ...
12/05/2026
LiveU has announced a strategic partnership with DRONERESPONDERS, a 501(c)3 non-...
12/05/2026
Open Broadcast Systems has announced that BMC TV, a specialist in IP transport of broadcast content, has selected the Open Broadcast Systems 5G Flyaway solution...
12/05/2026
NEP Europe, part of NEP Group, has announced it will deliver broadcast solutions...
12/05/2026
Grass Valley has announced continued collaboration with Ravensbourne University ...
12/05/2026
Stats Perform has announced the launch of Opta Pulse, an AI-assisted video creation and distribution platform for leagues, rights holders, and broadcasters. The...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced a collaboration with Sesame Workshop to integrate Sesame Street characters into FOX Sports' FIFA World Cup 2026 programming. Conten...
12/05/2026
To date, NHL Productions has produced 19 broadcasts with commentary in American Sign Language
NHL in ASL (American Sign Language) may be just one show, but the...
12/05/2026
Google's Brian Albert: creators, athletes, highlights, nostalgia, second-scr...
12/05/2026
A still from Past Lives by Celine Song, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute | p...
12/05/2026
Spotify is where fans and artists come together, turning discovery into somethin...
12/05/2026
Features patented Marco-MMC clocking technology
Black Lion Audio's latest release combines the company's expertise in clocking with their renowned p...
12/05/2026
New Track Panel, sequencer upgrades & more
Following their recent public beta release, Reason Studios have announced the full release of Reason 14. With the...
12/05/2026
One month to go! SBS reveals expansive FIFA World Cup 2026 lineup beyond the pi...
12/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz presents its advanced solutions for power electronics testing at...
12/05/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, has developed a modified fund raising p...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Tyrell Corporation, specialists in high-end live sports and entertainment broadcasts, was tasked with delivering compelling broadcast coverage of premier equest...
12/05/2026
Registration is now open for IBC2026 as the global media, entertainment and technology community prepares to converge on the RAI Amsterdam from 11 14 September ...
12/05/2026
Ross Video, a global leader in live video production technology, will present its latest innovations and integrated production workflows at BroadcastAsia 2026, ...
12/05/2026
500 selected leaders from around the world across start-ups, corporates, and venture capital. Over 50bn in assets under management among attending investors, a...
Digital, local, personal: Discovery outlines grand plan for Tokyo Olympic Games broadcast coverage By Heather McLean, Editor 
