“Every single minute” of Tokyo 2020 to feature on Eurosport

Discovery’s EMEA chief Kasia Kieli has revealed that the network is planning to beef up its Eurosport Player ahead of the 2020 Olympic games.

“We made some major developments to the platform in Pyeongchang and have even bigger ambitions for Tokyo, we have lots of innovations in the tube,” the executive said.

While details of plans are still being finalised, she added that the network’s ambition for Tokyo was to reach “the biggest potential numbers of viewers” by taking a ‘digital-first’ approach.

While Eurosport’s coverage - including collaborations with local partners - covers around 70% of the games, Kieli pledges to make coverage of all disciplines available on the digital platform.

• Read more: NBC pushes cross-platform ads for Tokyo 2020 

“We’ll be putting every single minute of the Olympics onto Eurosport Player. To reach new audiences, new viewers and new consumers you have to be on all the platforms and present them in a way that people want to consume,” said Kieli

She added that the platform would service audiences with additional streams of live events and expert and technical insight that taps into viewers’ interests.

This will include segments on how athletes train, which uses VR, different camera angles and extra in-depth analysis.

The executive added that there would also be an increased drive to engage younger audiences in next summer’s games.

“At Pyeongchang we had thirty or so vloggers working on the online coverage and they communicated in a language that younger viewers want to hear, so we will be adding to that,” she said.

According to Kieli the approach to its online Olympic coverage aligns with the broadcaster’s strategy of feeding the passions of international borderless communities, which she refers to as “passion verticals”.

This includes its Golf TV division, which was formed after Discovery’s 12-year deal with the PGA Tour last year for global TV and multi-platform rights outside the US.

The platform not only offers the viewer matches and live streams, but also alternative angles, golfing tutorials and other interactive elements.

“These communities are looking for similarly minded people with similar interests and similar points of view. We believe that this is a big trend and if you have products for these targeted passion communities, then you are going to win,” Kieli said.

• Read more: Discovery appoints Andrew Georgiou as Eurosport president