Discovery and Eurosport present their coverage for the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Games at the COE

They will be the first Games that Eurosport will offer after the agreement reached with the International Olympic Committee between 2018 and 2024. Its objective: to reach an older and younger audience, through more screens than ever.

Discovery and Eurosport presented this Monday at the headquarters of the Spanish Olympic Committee their ambitious proposal for the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Games, the first Games that Eurosport will offer after the agreement reached with the International Olympic Committee in 2015.

This agreement granted Discovery Communications and Eurosport all television and multiplatform broadcasting rights in Europe for the Games, both summer and winter, held during the period 2018–2024.

Eurosport will offer the first digital Games in Europe, with live and on-demand coverage. The Eurosport Player interactive service will be the only place where fans will be able to follow every minute of each athlete and each sport online, on mobile phones, tablets or through connected televisions. Eurosport Player will make more than 4,000 hours of coverage and 100 events available to users, including 900 hours of live broadcasting, more than ever before across the continent.

"We want to redefine the consumer's relationship with the Olympic Games and make this a unique experience. We want to rekindle their commitment and passion for this historic event. The great ambition of Discovery and Eurosport as the new Home of the Olympic Games in Europe is to reach an older and younger audience, through more screens than ever. To do this, we will make use of the most innovative technology, giving full access to every moment of these Olympic Games and bringing viewers even closer to their favorite athletes, with coverage and unsurpassed production that will join the enormous experience telling stories of a multinational company like Discovery,” explains Vera Buzanello, EVP General Manager of Discovery in Spain and Portugal. “To achieve this objective, Discovery walks hand in hand with the Spanish Olympic Committee and has sought alliances with strategic partners such as Olympic Channel, NowThis Sports or Snap, INC.”

“Discovery Communications has made a very strong and determined commitment in Europe to offer the winter and summer Olympic Games through its multi-platform from 2018 to 2024. I am sure that Olympic sport will be strengthened on the European continent and all fans, regardless of their age, will be able to follow the competitions and their favorite athletes on its multiple channels and through any image reproduction system,” adds Alejandro Blanco, President of the Spanish Olympic Committee.

A new way of telling stories

One of the fundamental pillars of Discovery and Eurosport's Olympic project is to tell stories in a different way and do so throughout the year and not just during the two weeks that the Games last. Eurosport will use its undisputed experience in the field of television production and storytelling to connect fans with their favorite athletes like never before.

To this end, Eurosport will offer Olympic content throughout the year, until the arrival of the Olympic Games and during their celebration. These will be the key points of coverage: direct, with minute-by-minute monitoring of the Games and Olympic sports throughout the year; innovation, using the latest technology such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality in order to attract a new and younger audience; a new narrative to bring fans closer to their local heroes and bring them closer to the person behind the athlete; and finally, Eurosport will include content that will show South Korean culture so that fans can get to know the city where the Games will be held and the customs of the Asian country.

Destination Pyeongchang

The starting signal will be next Wednesday, November 1, one hundred days before the start of the Winter Olympic Games, the day on which a countdown will be placed on the screen that will be visible until the Games begin on February 9. To celebrate such an important date, Eurosport 1 will broadcast special programming throughout the day with programs such as Destination PyeongChang, at 8:00 p.m., in which a presentation of the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Games will be made.

Tras la emisión especial de este programa que será ofrecida el día 1 de noviembre, Eurosport 1 ofrecerá de manera periódica este espacio dos veces a la semana desde el 18 de noviembre y hasta el final de los Juegos Olímpicos de PyeongChang. El programa ofrecerá los mejores momentos de las Copas del Mundo de deportes de invierno que darán comienzo en el mes de octubre, estadísticas y entrevistas que permitirán a los aficionados seguir día a día las actuaciones y la preparación de los aspirantes a medalla en PyeongChang 2018.

With the spirit of going beyond the Olympic Games and showing the effort and sacrifice that athletes make to reach that event every four years, Eurosport Spain has produced a 9-part documentary series titled Heading to PyeongChang. Esta serie mostrará las historias que hay detrás de deportistas españoles como Javier Fernández – bicampeón mundial que nos desvelará qué se siente al ser el causante de la fiebre por el patinaje en España -, Ander Mirambell – pionero español del Skeleton y primer deportista español de esta disciplina -, Lucas Eguibar – subcampeón del mundo de Snowboardcross que desvelará algunos de los momentos personales más duros a los que se ha tenido que enfrentar – o Queralt Castellet – subcampeona del mundo de snowboard que contará el poder curativo que ejerció sobre ella la montaña para recuperarse de la muerte de su novio y entrenador.

The program will show the stories of these Spanish heroes like never before, using cutting-edge technology such as 4K and bringing the audience closer to the person hiding behind the athlete, showing very emotional moments about the demands and desire of these great athletes to improve.

Olympic Games in the digital age

From February 9 to 25, Discovery and Eurosport will offer fans the best coverage, both live and on-demand, of the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Games 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so they don't miss a second of the most important sporting event in the world.

Eurosport will have a mobile studio in PyeongChang and will work with some of Europe's most important influencers, who will be part of the editorial team during the Games to create unique content for social networks aimed at attracting a new, younger audience. In addition, Eurosport Spain will have a team of narrators and experts made up of more than 20 professionals who will bring the passion for the Games and winter sports to viewers and will be made up of: Fernando Ruiz, Miguel Ángel Méndez, José Luis Corral, Antonio Alix, José Manuel Tallada, Miguel Ángel Yáñez, Luis Jiménez, Fernando Gómez, Rubén Fernández, Sergio Manuel Gutierrez, Francisco Trapero and Javier Rubio, forming a team with our commentators, already regulars on Eurosport Spain, such as the skiers Carolina Ruiz and Reyes Santa Olalla, along with Luis Fajardo, Paul de la Cuesta, Eduardo de Paz, and the skater Marta Senra.

Eurosport Player, a subscription service that offers the live signal of the Eurosport channels and on-demand content online, will be the perfect tool for all those fans who do not want to miss a single minute of the Olympic Games and who also want to do so through their computer, smartphone or tablet. The fan will take control by deciding when and where to watch the Olympic Games and will be able to enjoy an 'extra seat' and a completely immersive experience thanks to the use of technology such as virtual reality.

Eurosport Player will make more than 4,000 hours of coverage and 100 events available to users, including 900 hours of live broadcasting, more than ever before across the continent. Eurosport Player will also enable an Olympic section during the Games where there will be content divided by sports.

On November 1, with 100 days left before the PyeongChang Games begin, Eurosport will launch a section 100% dedicated to PyeongChang 2018. This section will offer on-demand content provided by Olympic Channel and OBS (Olympic Broadcasting Services), locally produced content and programs with a short format.

During the Games, both the Eurosport website and the channel's app for mobile phones and tablets will offer the latest news, programming schedules, live scores, medal tables, information on each athlete and on-demand content.