The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has filled in a substantial missing piece of its broadcast rights jigsaw puzzle for the 2028-32 cycle, striking a deal in sub-Saharan Africa with Marketing & Media Solutions (MMS).
A deal has been unveiled today between the IOC and the MMS agency, covering free-to-air (FTA) rights across 44 countries for the Los Angeles 2028 and Brisbane 2032 Summer Olympics, as well as the French Alps 2030 Winter Games.
MMS will now work to distribute these FTA rights to partners in each of the markets involved, with the aim of "allowing extensive reach for local audiences and providing free coverage of more than 200 hours for the Olympic Summer Games."
The deal actually commences with the 2026 Youth Olympic Games, which will be held in Dakar, Senegal, between October 31 and November 13.
MMS, launched in 2022, handled rights to the African qualifiers in advance of soccer's upcoming FIFA World Cup, as well as rights to the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.
Anne-Sophie Voumard, managing director of the IOC's Television and Marketing Services arm, has said: "We are pleased to reach this agreement with MMS and start working together to ensure fantastic free coverage of the Olympic Games and Youth Olympic Games across sub-Saharan Africa.”
The most recent deal for the next cycle of the Olympics and Winter Olympics was unveiled in mid-February - before the most recent edition of the latter event, which took place in Northern Italy.
It saw Iris Sport Media, the UK-based sports agency, acquire in-flight and on-ship rights to the Olympics, in a four-games deal also stretching through 2032.
In sub-Saharan Africa, rights to the 2026 Winter Olympics were held by StarTimes, the pay-TV broadcaster - the agreement was only for that specific event, however.
Meanwhile, rights to the Paris games were sold in that region through the Infront agency.
Redha Chibani, MMS chief executive, added: "The IOC and MMS are ready to open a new chapter for the Olympic Games: we will create a platform where broadcasters can build Olympic Games tailored to their audience, stakeholders, and sponsors, with the common objective of delivering the best viewing experience in each country.”
The 44 countries are as follows: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Togo, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Sub-Saharan African nations secured a total of 30 medals between them at the Paris 2024 Olympics, with Kenya leading the way.
