• by Wayne Friedman , December 15, 2016

NBCUniversal, the United States Olympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee’s new global Olympic Channel have struck a U.S. distribution partnership.

The organizations will collaborate to produce and distribute Olympic sports and Olympic-themed programming on a year-round basis between the Winter and Summer Olympic Games, which alternate being staged every two years.

The Olympic Channel, started by the International Olympic Committee, launched as a worldwide digital platform following the closing August ceremony of the Olympic Games Rio 2016.  Founding marketing partners for the Olympic Channel include Bridgestone and Toyota.

The partnership will bring coverage of Olympic sports programs appearing exclusively on NBC, NBCSN and NBC Sports Digital outlets. The first such coverage begins on December 17 with the Team USA Winter Champions Series.

Other Olympic-themed original content will include original programs produced by filmmakers, archival footage from the IOC and NBCU’s library of Olympic features and documentaries and original Team USA programming contributed by the USOC.

Previously, the U.S.-based Universal Sports network -- where NBCUniversal had a minority 8% interest (Intermedia Partners owned 82% of the channel) -- was an Olympic-theme sports network. After nine years of operation, it closed in late 2015 with NBC buying some of its sports programming assets.