In a major sports rights coup, UK-based Iris Sport Media agency has been selected as the exclusive in-ship and in-flight broadcast rights partner for the next four editions of the Olympic Games.
Through a tie-up with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) unveiled today, Iris takes over from Sport 24, the service owned by international sports agency IMG, as the IOC's in-flight and in-ship partner.
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IMG and Sport 24 have held these rights since Sochi 2014, with the service's last such rights extension having come in early 2022, covering the 2022 and 2024 Olympics.
The deal has now started with action from the ongoing Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics (which got underway on February 6 and runs through to February 22).
It also covers the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, as well as the French Alps 2030 Winter Games, and Brisbane 2032.
Ioris Francini, founding partner at Iris, has said: "The demand in this segment for premium sports content is at an all-time high, and there is nothing bigger or more iconic on a global stage than the Olympic Games.
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By GlobalData"With the majority of the cruise lines in time zones during the games in LA2028, we expect a huge surge in demand. In addition, the in-flight industry is undergoing a rapid technological evolution with connectivity being available in simpler and more cost-effective ways and an underlying growing passenger-demand for access."
In terms of recent Iris activity, late last week the agency announced the acquisition of Latin American counterpart Cracks Sports and Media.
Iris, in doing so, is focusing on Latin America as a potential growth region, with Cracks having offices in the US and Argentina (while servicing the Americas as a whole).
It is also aiming to use this acquisition to boost its presence in the expanding US-Hispanic market.
Anne-Sophie Voumard, managing director of the IOC Television and Marketing Services division, added: "We are excited to be working with Iris Sport Media to provide in-flight and in-ship coverage of the Olympic Games through to 2032, which supports our broadcast objective of reaching the widest possible audience."
The IOC secured last-minute Winter Olympics rights deals across a number of regions during the days and hours leading up to the Milan Cortina event getting underway earlier this month.
This number included tie-ups in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), sub-Saharan Africa, the Indian sub-continent, and the Caribbean.
