'Milan Cortina will be a growth engine for our platforms'
Araimo (Warner Bros Discovery): 'The Olympics operation is going very well'. And on Sky: "The partnership continues and can evolve in a thousand ways"
Key points
"The Olympic collection went very well. There is very high interest. The launch of Hbo Max went well, both on its own and through partner distribution. The results we are getting tell us that we are on the right track'.
Araimo: 'We expect a strong impact'
Alessandro Araimo, managing director of Warner Bros Discovery Southern Europe, looks with satisfaction at the results achieved so far in the run-up to the Olympic Games, which see the US bigwig - which also owns Eurosport - holding the rights to the entire competition (some of which, for 250 hours of live coverage, will also be visible on RAI channels). "The Winter Olympics represent an extraordinary accelerator: we expect a very strong impact both in terms of subscriptions and brand positioning".
Full coverage and boost to Hbo Max
It is within this framework that Warner Bros Discovery presented yesterday its offer on the event coverage: on the Hbo Max and discovery+ platforms and on the Eurosport channels (which are included in Timvision Play for Timvision subscribers and also visible on Dazn). Hbo Max is also available, by subscription, on Amazon's Prime Video. The numbers: more than 2,000 people working on the Olympic event to cover 865 hours of live sporting events; 200 of in-depth coverage with studios in Cortina, Livigno and Milan. Undisputed champions of these sports will narrate the events: Kristian Ghedina, Tina Maze, Francesca Marsaglia, and Carolina Kostner.
"It is a great thrill and a pleasure to return to the Olympic stage. They are also the home Olympics,' Araimo added, recalling that the group holds the rights to all Olympic Games until 2032, in a journey that began in 2018 with the PyeongChang Winter Games.
Buonfiglio (CONI): 'Excited about these Olympics'
Luciano Buonfiglio, president of the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI), who attended the presentation, said he was 'thrilled': 'My life has been dedicated to sport and this is a crowning achievement. I am not only the president of CONI, but the president of the Olympic Games in Italia. This is the fourth time that we are hosting the Olympics, with time passing it is becoming more and more difficult'. Inevitably, the discussion falls on the doping issue, after the disqualification of Italian biathlete Rebecca Passler. Buonfiglio does not shy away: 'I'm curious to know how this will end. It seems strange, we know the athlete and her family. I am confident that it could be a mistake and a mistake".
