Public-service broadcaster France Télévisions has been given the green light to provide ultra-high definition (UHD) broadcasts of the country’s home Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games next year.
The ruling from France’s Regulatory Authority for Audiovisual and Digital Communication (Arcom) comes following a request from the Government back in May.
Arcom was called on to permit France Télévisions to offer UHD broadcasts on digital terrestrial television (DTT) through the France 2 and France 3 channels, the latter specifically only for the window spanning July 10 to September 10.
Paris 2024’s Olympic Games will run from July 26 to August 11, followed by the Paralympics from August 28 to September 8. Arcom said the UHD distribution will cover a large part of mainland France and nine overseas communities.
The regulator added: “The decisions adopted by the Authority are based on technical work carried out since the end of spring, in conjunction with all players in the sector. They resulted in a modification of the deliberation relating to the rules for sharing the resource allocated to DTT services as well as the signalling profile for the broadcasting of these services.
“Finally, contacted by Arcom, several private publishers have expressed interest in broadcasting their services in UHD. Arcom continues its discussions with them in order, if necessary, to determine the terms of such distribution.”
UHD coverage of Paris 2024 contrasts with the approach taken for another major sporting event in Europe next summer. SportBusiness reported in August that Uefa will not produce coverage of Euro 2024 in native UHD, instead opting for a single ‘multi-purpose’ broadcast format.
In April 2019, Discovery and France Télévisions signed a partnership to present complementary coverage of the Olympic Games in France, with the deal covering Beijing 2022 and Paris 2024. Under the partnership, France Télévisions is sub-licensing, from Discovery, exclusive free-to-air audio-visual rights to the 2022 and 2024 Olympic Games. Eurosport is providing full coverage of the Games.
The sub-licensing arrangements followed Discovery’s long-term partnership with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), announced in June 2015, which included exclusive multimedia rights for 50 countries and territories in Europe, beginning with the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics and running through to Paris 2024. The rights awarded to Discovery in France included 2022 and 2024, given 2018 and 2020 had already been secured by France Télévisions.
In January 2022, France Télévisions committed to showing 300 hours of live coverage from the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games after emerging as the winner of the tender process launched by the Organising Committee.
IOC strengthens CMG alliance
In other news, the IOC has enhanced its connection with China Media Group (CMG) through the signing of a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two organisations. The MoU states that the IOC and CMG will continue to collaborate and work together throughout their partnership.
CMG, previously known as CCTV, has broadcast the Olympic Games in China since the 1980s – firstly through its agreement with the Asia Broadcast Union, and subsequently when it acquired rights directly from the IOC for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
In October 2021, CMG also launched the CCTV Olympic Channel – what was claimed at the time to be the world’s first 24/7, 4K Ultra HD sports channel. CMG currently holds Olympic broadcast rights in China as part of a four-Games agreement, signed in September 2021, that runs until Brisbane 2032.
CMG signed a separate MoU with Paris 2024 on October 23, while in September it reached an agreement with Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS), the host broadcast arm of the IOC, to produce international broadcast feeds for four sports at next year’s Games. CMG will produce feeds for gymnastics, table tennis, badminton and sport climbing during Paris 2024.
IOC president, Thomas Bach, said: “The innovations brought in by CMG led to record audience numbers for the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022. The IOC is looking forward to the collaboration with CMG during the Olympic Games Paris 2024, when CMG will produce, on behalf of Olympic Broadcasting Services, the international signal for four sports: gymnastics, table tennis, badminton and sport climbing.
“We also welcome the strong cooperation with the Paris 2024 Organising Committee and the signing of an MoU between the two organisations to promote the Games in China.”
CMG president, Shen Haixiong, added: “CMG is proud to continue broadcasting the Olympic Games in China thanks to its exclusive broadcast rights agreement through to the Olympic Games Brisbane 2032. The signing at Olympic House is an important moment that marks our joint commitment to bringing the Games to as many people in China as possible.”
