YLE acquires 2014 and 2016 Olympic rights in Finland

21 November 2011 | Posted in Broadcast, Olympics, Europe | By Michael Long

Finnish broadcaster Yleisradio Oy (YLE) has acquired the media rights in Finland to the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics and the Summer Games in Rio in 2016.

Under the terms of the deal, YLE will broadcast all events at both Games across a range of platforms, including television, the internet, radio and mobile.

YLE, which has served as a broadcast partner of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for a number of years, will provide over 300 hours of coverage on its free-to-air television channels.

Lauri Kivinen, chief executive of YLE, said: “This deal is extremely significant, not only for YLE and Finnish sport, but also for the Finnish television viewers. The Finns have always demonstrated a strong interest in sport and sport content has enjoyed a large share of television viewing in YLE programming over the years.”

“Our audiences attach great importance to the presentation of major sports events, which regularly feature as the most popular television programmes of the year.” It is also Kivinen’s opinion that it is crucial that the Olympic Games in Finland are available for all viewers and, as the public service broadcaster, YLE will ensure this.”

Shaila-Ann Rao, chief executive of Sportfive International, the Olympic broadcast rights holder in over 40 European territories, said: “We are delighted to sign this deal in Finland. The experience and expertise YLE has demonstrated when broadcasting previous Olympic Games brings us great confidence in the coverage they will provide during Sochi 2014 and Rio 2016.”

The announcement of the rights acquisition follows Uefa's recent decision to award the media rights to the Uefa Champions League to YLE.

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