The Olympics Gets a YouTube Channel, of Sorts

By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews

“Of sorts” is probably a bit confusing, as it is a YouTube channel, but as the International Olympic Committee announced on Monday, it will be geo-limited to 77 territories “across Africa, Asia and the Middle East, including India, Republic of Korea, Nigeria and Indonesia” where video-on-demand (VOD) rights to the broadcast have not already been sold.

The coverage will also be limited to highlights and clips; no live coverage. The channel, assuming you meet the location requirements, can be found at http://www.youtube.com/beijing2008.

In the press release, IOC Director of Television and Marketing Services Timo Lumme said:

“The IOC’s priority is to ensure that as many people as possible get to experience the magic of the Olympic Games and the inspirational sporting achievements of the Olympic athletes. For the first time in Olympic history we will have complete global online coverage, and the IOC will have its own broadcast Channel and content production facilities. The IOC’s Channel will make fantastic Olympic footage available where young generations of sports fans are already going for online entertainment, and will complement the footage offered in these territories by our broadcast partners across all media platforms.”

By offering an abundance of freely available content across media platforms around the world, including over the internet, the IOC believes it is limiting the risk of piracy infringements.

Right, but honestly, if YouTube isn’t jam-packed full of Olympic clips (which will constantly, I assume, be taken down by Google employees), I’d be very surprised.