NBCUniversal is shuttering the Olympic Channel after a five-year run.
The end of the linear channel is a byproduct of NBCUniversal’s reevaluated programming strategy amid increased sports-related content on USA Network and its streaming platform Peacock.
- NBCUniversal will cancel the Olympic Channel on Sept. 30.
- At the end of 2021, the channel reached roughly 47 million homes.
NBCUniversal will continue to deliver Olympic-related programming to its millions of viewers.
The company has held exclusive U.S. media rights to the Winter and Summer Games since 2000, and in 2014 secured rights with IOC in a $7.65 billion deal that runs through 2032.
The Olympic Channel marks the second linear programming option NBCUniversal has shut down in the last year. In December 2021, the Comcast-owned company ceased operations of NBC Sports Network, which originally launched in 1995 as Outdoor Life Network.
NBCSN’s previously featured content is now available on USA Network and Peacock.
Big Business
Comcast’s decision to shut down the Olympic Channel isn’t a cost-cutting move.
The NBCUniversal owner generated $31 billion in revenue in Q1, a 14% increase year-over-year, and $1.5 billion from the Beijing Winter Olympics and Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles.
Peacock has also secured $1 billion in upfront ad revenue this year, up from $500 million in 2021. Its 28 million monthly Q1 users included 13 million paid subscribers.
Read the original article on FrontOfficeSports.com.
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