NBCU’s Olympic Channel Will Officially Launch on July 15; Universal HD To Cease Operations

The new Olympic Channel – will officially launch on July 15, 2017, Comcast announced via its Website. On that same day, Universal HD will be ceasing operations. The “Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA” HD channel will be available on Comcast’s Digital Preferred package in every market that currently carries Universal HD (Comcast will not launch an SD version of the channel). AT&T and DIRECTV will also carry the channel upon launch. Announced in December, the new channel is a combined effort between NBCU, the IOC, and the USOC to connect fans to the Olympic Movement year round. 

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The Olympic Channel launched as a worldwide digital platform following the Closing Ceremony of the Olympic Games Rio 2016, but the July 15 launch will mark the creation of a 24/7 linear cable network dedicated entirely to the Olympic Movement. NBC Olympics, the IOC, and the USOC will collaborate to produce and distribute Olympic sports and Olympic-themed programming on a year-round basis between the Games. The collaborative programming will emphasise live events from a broad portfolio of summer and winter Olympic sports. It will also include Olympic-themed original content produced by all three parties, such as original programmes produced by filmmakers from around the world commissioned by the global Olympic Channel; rich archival footage from the IOC and NBCU’s library of Olympic features and documentaries; and original Team USA programming contributed by the USOC.

Along with the Channel, the partnership also brings additional coverage of Olympic sports programmes that will appear exclusively on other NBCU platforms – including NBC, NBCSN and NBC Sports Digital outlets. The first such coverage begins this Saturday, 17 December, with the Team USA Winter Champions Series.