Olympic Channel (American TV channel)

Olympic Channel (branded as Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA) is an American pay television sports channel owned by the NBC Olympics division of NBC Sports and the United States Olympic Committee. It is dedicated to Olympic sports, and is a franchise of the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) Olympic Channel operation.

Olympic Channel
CountryUnited States
Broadcast areaNationwide
SloganHome of Team USA
HeadquartersNew York City, New York
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Programming
Language(s)English
Picture format1080i HDTV [1]
Ownership
Owner
Sister channelsNBC
NBCSN
Universo
NBC Sports Regional Networks
Golf Channel
History
LaunchedJuly 31, 2003 (2003-07-31)
Former names
  • Bravo HD+ (2003–2004)
  • Universal HD (2004–2017)
Links
WebsiteOfficial website
Availability
Cable
XfinityChannel 1419
Altice USAChannel 225
Available on some cable systemsChannel slots vary on each provider
Satellite
DirecTVChannel 624
Dish NetworkChannel 389
IPTV
AT&T U-verse
  • Channel 667 (SD)
  • Channel 1667 (HD)
Verizon FIOSChannel 91 (SD)
Channel 591 (HD)
Streaming media
Internet Protocol television

The network was founded in 2003 as Bravo HD+, which aired programs from the fellow NBC Universal network Bravo that had been produced in high definition. In 2004, the network was re-branded as Universal HD, serving as an outlet for HD broadcasts of programming from NBCUniversal channels, and library films. Universal HD rebranded to the Olympic Channel on July 15, 2017.

History

As Bravo HD+/Universal HD

The channel was launched on July 31, 2003 as Bravo HD+, serving as a high-definition companion service to Bravo. On December 1, 2004, the network was rebranded as Universal HD, shifting its focus towards library content, particularly from Universal Pictures and other NBC Universal channels.[2]

As Olympic Channel

In June 2017, NBCUniversal announced that Universal HD would be replaced by Olympic Channel on July 15, 2017. The move came in response to changing market conditions in the U.S. television industry, including the growth of "skinny" over-the-top linear television services delivered over the internet, and an overall decline in "niche" channels that originate little to no original programming.[3][4]

The U.S. version of Olympic Channel is a franchise of the IOC's Olympic Channel network operated in conjunction with NBC Sports and the United States Olympic Committee. The channel carries coverage of competitions in Olympic sports that take place outside of the Olympic Games (such as world championships), and other programming focusing on Olympic athletes. It draws from programming commissioned for the international version of Olympic Channel, original programming produced by the USOC, and the archives of NBC.[5][6]

The USOC had announced preliminary plans in July 2009 to launch an Olympic sports-oriented channel with Comcast, who would go onto announce its intent to acquire NBC Universal later that year. The joint venture was folded in April 2010, with the planned acquisition of NBC (who ran its own Olympic sport-focused channel with InterMedia Partners, Universal Sports) having been cited as a potential distraction from the proposed channel (which was originally intended to launch following the 2010 Winter Olympics).[7][8]

The rebranding occurred on the morning of July 15, 2017; its launch weekend programming included coverage of events in the 2017 World Aquatics Championships, the 2017 FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix, the 2017 World Para Athletics Championships and the 2017 IAAF Diamond League. Besides Xfinity, providers who carried the channel at launch included Altice, AT&T U-verse, DirecTV, Dish Network, Spectrum, and Verizon Fios, along with Hulu's live TV service; NBC stated that it would be available in 35 million households when the rebranding occurs.[9]

The network carried news and highlights during the 2018 Winter Olympics (with full event coverage delegated to other NBCUniversal networks), including the Jimmy Roberts-hosted studio program Winter Olympics Daily, the daily medals ceremony, and the Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) produduction Olympic Channel News.[10] The network participated in NBCSN's event coverage of the 2018 Winter Paralympics.[11][12]

Past programming

Most of the programs broadcast by Universal HD were first aired by one of NBCUniversal's pay-TV networks, including Bravo, USA Network, Syfy and Chiller before their HD simulcast networks were launched. In its early years, it carried sports coverage from USA in the HD format, including its rights to The Masters, tennis's US Open, and the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.[13] Early in the high-definition era it also acquired rights to short-run early-to-mid 2000s network series produced in the format such as CBS's Clubhouse and UPN's Sex, Love & Secrets to fill out its schedule.

In July 2007, the network announced a partnership with then-sister network Sundance Channel to carry a weekly block of their content from August 1 to December 26, 2007, which was sponsored by Microsoft.[14] It also, as part of a consortium of other NBC Universal networks and Sundance Channel, broadcast the entirety of the 2007 Live Earth concerts in high definition.[15]

In November 2015, Universal Sports, a sports channel owned by InterMedia Partners with a minority stake held by NBC, ceased operations. NBC Sports acquired the rights to the content that was previously held by the channel, which consisted primarily of competitions in Olympic sports, and dispersed across Universal HD, NBCSN, and NBC Sports Live Extra.[16][17] It also carried tape-delayed repeats of WWE's weekly series, including Raw and SmackDown, which aired back-to-back on Saturday evenings. It also carried repeats of NBC's package of Notre Dame football home games before the conversion of the former OLN/Versus to NBCSN.

See also

References
  1. "Technical Info - Olympic Channel". NBCUniversal Affiliate Site. 24 June 2017. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  2. "Bravo HD+ to Become Universal HD". Multichannel News. Retrieved 2017-07-14.
  3. Holloway, Daniel (January 25, 2017). "Could End of NBCU's Esquire Network Foretell More Cable Culling?". Variety. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
  4. Littleton, Cynthia (August 18, 2016). "Participant's Pivot: Demise Reflects Niche Cable's Diminished Fortunes". Variety. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
  5. Petski, Denise (2017-06-15). "Olympic Channel Gets July Launch Date". Deadline. Retrieved 2017-07-15.
  6. "NBCUniversal Sets Olympic Channel Launch Date". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2017-07-14.
  7. Sandomir, Richard (2010-04-21). "U.S.O.C. Ends Plans for Its Own Olympic Channel". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-01-22.
  8. "USOC, Comcast end effort to launch Olympics network". Los Angeles Times. 2010-04-21. Retrieved 2020-01-22.
  9. Zaccardi, Nick (July 10, 2017). "Olympic Channel Launch Broadcast Schedule". NBCSports.com. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  10. "Olympic Channel To Focus On Shoulder Programming For PyeongChang". Sports Business Daily. Retrieved 2017-11-13.
  11. "How to Watch—And What to Expect From—the Winter Paralympics 2018 on NBC". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  12. "Why do Americans ignore the Paralympics?". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2018-03-09.
  13. Sturgeon, Shane. "INTERVIEW - Jean-Briac Parrette". HDTV Magazine. Retrieved 2017-07-14.
  14. "Microsoft Sponsors Sundance Hi-Def Content". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved 2017-07-14.
  15. "NBC Universal Gets Live Earth Exclusive". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved 2017-07-14.
  16. Lieberman, David (2015-11-16). "NBC Sports Group Picks Up Events That Aired On Universal Sports Network". Deadline. Retrieved 2017-07-14.
  17. Hipes, Patrick (2015-10-22). "Universal Sports Network Being Shuttered By NBCU". Deadline. Retrieved 2017-07-14.
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