BHRT and MRT, the public-service broadcasters in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Macedonia, respectively, have struck rights deals to show the 2018 winter Olympics in Pyeongchang and the 2020 summer Games in Tokyo.
Both broadcasters acquired the rights through sublicensing deals with media and entertainment company Discovery Communications, which holds the rights to the Games from 2018 to 2024 in almost every European territory.
As reported by TV Sports Markets on Friday, Cyprus and Malta are the only other European territories where Discovery has not yet agreed rights deals for the Pyeongchang Games, which start this Friday.
MRT said that it would show about 150 hours of live action from Pyeongchang under its exclusive rights deal, including live coverage of the alpine skiing, ice hockey, ice skating, ski jumping, biathlon and Nordic skiing. Other events will be shown on a delayed basis due to the time difference, with a total of 200 hours of coverage available.
MRT said that it had engaged in “lengthy and exhaustive negotiations with Discovery”. The lateness of the deal was “primarily due to the price of the television rights”, which were “far higher than the price for previous Olympics”, MRT added.
BHRT said in a short statement that its board of directors had approved the acquisition of the rights at the end of January.