IOC awards 2020-2024 broadcast rights in Sub-Saharan Africa
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has awarded exclusive free-to-air broadcast rights to Infront Sports & Media AG (Infront) for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 and the Olympic Games Paris 2024, as well as the Youth Olympic Games Lausanne 2020 and Dakar 2022, in the following territories:
Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad (non-exclusive free-to-air television and radio), Comoros, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti (non-exclusive satellite television on a free basis and in the French language), Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Infront has acquired the rights for free-to-air television (and digital simulcast rights) in Sub-Saharan Africa. The agreement includes a commitment to ensure comprehensive live/same-day coverage of each edition of the Olympic Games and daily highlights of the Olympic Winter Games on free-to-air television. Infront will also work to ensure comprehensive coverage of the first Youth Olympic Games to be hosted in Africa, in Dakar in 2022.
Infront will develop a tailored feed for Olympic fans across Sub-Saharan Africa, ensuring extensive coverage of local athletes and a focus on the most popular sports across the region. Infront has previously worked with the IOC to broadcast the Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014, the Olympic Games Rio 2016 and the Youth Olympic Games Nanjing 2014.
Timo Lumme, Managing Director of IOC Television and Marketing Services, said: “Following our partnership for Rio and Sochi, we are pleased to be working again with Infront to bring the best Olympic Games coverage to Sub-Saharan Africa. In 2022, the Youth Olympic Games will be hosted for the first time in Africa, in Dakar, Senegal. With a young population, this is an important time for the development of the future of sport in Africa, and the IOC continues to redistribute 90 per cent of the revenue we generate through our commercial agreements to support sport around the world, including in Africa.”
Julien Ternisien, Infront Vice-President for Summer Sports, said: “Our shared objective with the IOC is to maximise the reach of the Olympic Games and bring the unique stories to households across Sub-Saharan Africa. We feel the next five years will be an exciting time for the Olympic Movement in Africa, with Dakar 2022 providing one of many opportunities for Africa to illustrate its passion for the Games. Infront is delighted to continue to deliver the high-quality service it is known for.”
About The International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee is a not-for-profit independent international organisation made up of volunteers, which is committed to building a better world through sport. It redistributes more than 90 per cent of its income to the wider sporting movement, which means that every day the equivalent of 3.4 million US dollars goes to help athletes and sports organisations at all levels around the world.
About Infront Sports & Media
Infront Sports & Media is a sports marketing company. The company handles the media and marketing rights for international sports events and federations and also provides sports services – such as advertising, sponsorship and hospitality. Infront was created in late 2002 through the integration of CWL, Prisma and KirchSportAG. It has 35 offices, which belong to different subsidiaries for geographic regions.