IOC awards 2026-2032 broadcast rights in China

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) today announced that the China Media Group (CMG) has been awarded the exclusive broadcast rights in the Chinese mainland and Macau (SAR) for the XXV Olympic Winter Games in Milano Cortina in 2026, the Games of the XXXIV Olympiad in Los Angeles in 2028, the XXVI Olympic Winter Games in 2030, and the Games of the XXXV Olympiad in Brisbane in 2032.

CMG has acquired the rights across all broadcast platforms, including free-to-air television, subscription television, internet and mobile. The agreement also includes the right to broadcast all editions of the Youth Olympic Games until 2032.

The new agreement was signed during a virtual

ceremony between IOC President Thomas Bach and CMG President Shen Haixiong.

“The IOC is delighted to announce an extension to our agreement with our longstanding broadcast partner, CMG” said IOC President Thomas Bach. “The new agreement means Chinese sports fans will be able to continue enjoying CMG’s first-class coverage of the Olympic Games through to 2032. I would like to congratulate CMG for the overwhelming success of its coverage of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, when it reached hundreds of millions of people.”

The IOC redistributes over 90 per cent of all its revenues to support athletes and sports organisations around the world. In these times of crisis, this support and solidarity are more important now than ever.

Shen Haixiong, CMG President, pointed out that: “CMG and the IOC enjoy long-term friendly cooperation. CMG sent a team of nearly 800 people to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. The team made contributions to the success of the Olympic Games under special circumstances through CMG’s coverage and supporting OBS’s world feed productions. This displayed CMG's support for the Olympic Movement. The renewal of the Olympic Games broadcast rights in China will not only extend the partnership between the two sides, but also create a solid basis for widespread, continuous promotion of the Olympic Movement in China.”

According to Shen Haixiong, CMG's CCTV Olympic Channel, which will be the world's first 4K+HD, 7/24 TV channel, will be launched this year, along with the digital platforms of the CCTV Olympic Channel. This will be another key accomplishment in the cooperation between CMG and the IOC. It will facilitate the promotion of the Olympic Movement and the Olympic values in China and create a great atmosphere for the upcoming Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 to “encourage 300 million Chinese to engage in winter sports,” said Shen Haixiong.

CMG will broadcast the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 in China with new innovations, including 8K Ultra HD transmission, and also support Olympic Broadcast Services’ production of the world feed.

CMG already has an agreement to broadcast the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 and the Olympic Games Paris 2024. The group (previously known as CCTV) has broadcast the Olympic Games through its agreement with the Asia Broadcast Union since the 1980s, and first acquired rights directly from the IOC for the Olympic Games Beijing 2008.