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    NBC to launch all-Olympic channel in deal with IOC, USOC 

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments1557 Views
    Athletes pose for picture with performers during the closing ceremony in the Maracana stadium at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, Aug. 21, 2016. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
    NEW YORK (AP) --

    NBC is bringing year-round Olympic programming to the United States.

    After years of trying, the U.S and International Olympic Committees have agreed with NBC on a package that will offer year-round Olympic programming, focused on U.S. athletes, the parties announced Thursday. NBC will launch a new U.S. television network branded "Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA" in the second half of 2017.

    Scott Blackmun, the CEO of the USOC, calls the partnership "a wonderful way to turbocharge one of fastest-growing fan bases that's out there."

    That channel will complement the IOC's Olympic Channel, which launched on a worldwide digital platform after the Rio Games.

    The programming will include archival footage and documentaries, along with original Team USA programming contributed by the USOC.

    Mark Parkman, general manager of the Olympic Channel, said the IOC is planning on producing 250 hours of original programming per year. That programming will be available to the NBC network, and the USOC will also produce U.S.-focused content.

    About 10 years ago, the USOC proposed launching its own version of an Olympic channel but got a tepid response from both NBC and the IOC, which didn't want outside competition to their own programing. NBC owns U.S. rights to televise the games through 2032.

    Tags:NBCOlympic ChannelOlympics



    Trump taps “Apprentice” producer, Mark Burnett, as special envoy to the U.K.

    Saturday, December 21, 2024
    Television producer Mark Burnett, left, looks on as President Donald Trump arrives for the National Prayer Breakfast, Feb. 2, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

    Mark Burnett, the power producer who helped reintroduce Donald Trump to a national television audience with "The Apprentice," is being tapped by the president-elect as special envoy to the United Kingdom in his upcoming administration.

    "With a distinguished career in television production and business, Mark brings a unique blend of diplomatic acumen and international recognition to this important role," Trump announced Saturday.

    Burnett, who was born in London, helped produce hits like "Survivor" and "The Voice," but is perhaps best known for teaming up with Trump for "The Apprentice," which first aired on NBC in 2004.

    Trump had been well-known in real estate and pop culture circles for decades. But the show helped again make him a household name — though Trump severed ties with NBC in 2015, the same year he launched his first White House run.

    The selection of Burnett continues Trump's trend of filling out his incoming administration with people who have high-profile backgrounds in television or politics, or both — including his choice to be defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, a former co-host of "Fox & Friends Weekend," and ex-television doctor and unsuccessful Senate candidate in Pennsylvania, Mehmet Oz.

    Trump's first campaign in 2016 was rocked by allegations about his conduct on "The Apprentice" and other appearances during his association with NBC, notably in footage in which he said he could sexually assault women and get away with it because he was a "star."

    Almost a decade after he left his reality TV role, Trump's television career remains central to his biography and political rise. The show presented Trump Tower to tens of millions of people as a symbol of power and success before Trump launched his first... Read More

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