Exclusive Mexican broadcast rights to the next four Olympic Games – both Summer and Winter – have been sold to the TelevisaUnivision telecommunications and broadcast giant.
A tie-up running between the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina and the 2032 Summer Games in Brisbane was unveiled by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) yesterday (February 4). The agreement also covers the Los Angeles 2028 and French Alps 2030 Olympics.
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This comes as an extension in terms of Olympic coverage rights for TelevisaUnivision, which covered the Paris 2024 and Tokyo 2020 games. In addition, action from Paris last year was also shown in Mexico by America Movil, as well as by TV Azteca and Imagen Television via sub-license deals.
Following what the IOC has called a “competitive tender”, TelevisaUnivision has committed to providing at least 200 hours of free-to-air (FTA) coverage from the Olympics and Winter Olympics, while action will also be shown on pay-TV. In addition, its linear coverage will be simulcast on the broadcaster’s ViX streaming site.
The Mexican media rights tender was launched by the OIympic governing body on October 7 last year, with a deadline for bids of November 7.
This followed a similar process getting underway – also for the games in 2026, 2028, 2030, and 2032 – in South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, earlier in October.
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By GlobalDataBetween the tender being launched and the bid deadline, TelevisaUnivision’s chair, Emilio Azcarraga Jean, went on leave from his role. At that time, he was being investigated by the US Department of Justice over the relationship between his company and global soccer governing body FIFA.
The 2028 Los Angeles Olympics will likely see the largest Mexican audiences, due to a more favorable timezone than for previous editions.
Thomas Bach, president of the IOC, said: “I am delighted to announce this new, long-term agreement with TelevisaUnivision, which ensures comprehensive coverage of every Olympic Games edition until 2032 for viewers in Mexico. It follows great collaboration on the Olympic Games Paris 2024 between our organizations.”
Other markets in which rights for the next quartet of Olympics have not yet been allocated, include New Zealand, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), India, the Caribbean, Brazil (although only on a non-exclusive basis for 2028), and in-flight/on-ship.
Olek Loewenstein, TelevisaUnivision’s president of global sports, added: “Our coverage of Paris 2024, seen by millions, was key to our being selected by the IOC as partners and holders of its rights on all platforms in Mexico. Our commitment is to continue bringing the best Olympic coverage to every corner of our country and, at the same time, help strengthen the Olympic Movement and support Mexican athletes.”
