Worldwide Olympic Partner Toyota Motor Corporation and Bridgestone Corporation have this week become the first Founding Partners of the Olympic Channel – the IOC’s a new digital platform that launches on Sunday 21 August following the Closing Ceremony of the Olympic Games Rio 2016.
The Founding Partner agreements have a four-year term extending through to the end of 2020.
Bridgestone, the world’s largest tyre and rubber company, became the first Founding Partner of the Olympic Channel on Monday, having been a Worldwide TOP Partner since 2014.
“Bridgestone has demonstrated its support for the Olympic Movement and belief in the Olympic values through its long-term commitment as a Worldwide TOP Partner, and through this new agreement we look forward to working closely with them to bring the Olympic Channel to fans around the world,” said IOC President Thomas Bach.
Toyota signed as a Worldwide TOP Partner in 2015 and the IOC announced company as a Founding Partner of the Olympic Channel on Friday.
“We are delighted that Toyota, our newest Worldwide TOP Partner, will also support the Olympic Channel as a Founding Partner,” said Bach. “We look forward to strengthening our partnership through the Olympic Channel.”
The Founding Partners will support the development of the Olympic Channel to put content into the hands of fans anytime, anywhere, and on any device, according the IOC.
Through the relationship, Toyota will receive exclusive advertising opportunities and will work with the Olympic Channel team to co-develop inspiring and exciting content, the IOC said.
Bridgestone will serve as the presenting partner of the Olympic Channel’s “Against All Odds”, an eight-episode documentary series that demonstrates the very embodiment of the Olympic spirit and follows eight athletes. Each half-hour episode will focus on one athlete, offering a first-person account of a key turning point, and how personal will and determination helped them to overcome adversity and reach their goals. The first episode in the series will premiere on 21 August, when the Olympic Channel launches.
“This is a very exciting time for Bridgestone as our Worldwide Olympic Partnership marks the first truly global marketing platform in our company’s history, and the Olympic Games Rio 2016 – the first ever in South America – are our first as a Worldwide TOP Partner. It is fitting that we also are the first Founding Partner of the Olympic Channel,” said Masaaki Tsuya, CEO and Representative Executive Officer, Bridgestone Corporation.
“The Olympic Movement is universal and we continue to reaffirm Bridgestone’s longstanding support for sport and our belief that the core principles of Olympism – and the world’s greatest athletes – should be celebrated every day of the year.”
As a TOP Partner, Bridgestone is strengthening its commitment to the Olympic Movement and the Olympic Channel mission, outlined in Olympic Agenda 2020, to reach audiences around the world, beyond the Olympic Games period, 365 days a year.
TOP Partner Toyota will support the organisers of future Olympic Games, the IOC and National Olympic Committees and their Olympic teams around the world. In line with Olympic Agenda 2020, with sustainability as one of its key pillars, Toyota will work with the Organising Committees through to 2024 to provide sustainable mobility solutions for the Games to help with safer, more efficient mobility, including intelligent transport systems, urban traffic systems and vehicle-to-vehicle communications systems.
The partnership will help deliver a mobility legacy in the host cities and countries, the IOC said.
About the Olympic Channel
The Olympic Channel is a digital-first, multiplatform global Olympic media entity, which aims to broadcast the Olympic Movement and its inherent values all year round, especially in the periods between the Olympic Games. The primary objectives of the Olympic Channel are to provide a platform for the continuous exposure of Olympic sports and athletes beyond the Olympic Games period and to help create anticipation while providing opportunities to "re-live the experience" after the Games; continuously highlight the relevance of the Olympic Movement's ideals to the challenges of today's world; provide a platform for sharing the IOC's very rich patrimonial assets and archives with the world and create additional value and content for the IOC archives; and engage the young generations around the world using methods that are relevant to them, building understanding, entertainment and education. At launch, the Olympic Channel will be a digital platform, with on-demand content available across the web, mobile, tablet and other connected devices where fans can experience the power of sport and Olympism 24 hours per day, 365 days a year. Audiences will also be able to access content and engage through a variety of social media platforms as part of the Olympic Channel network. For more info, please visit olympicchannel.com.
