Online streaming platform Okko said Wednesday that it has acquired broadcasting rights for the 2026 Winter Olympics, after Russian state television lost access to Olympic feeds in 2022.
“For the first time in Russia, a streaming service will broadcast the Olympics in their entirety and on an exclusive basis,” Okko Sport said in a statement, which included a promotional poster bearing the caption “rooting for our own at the Olympics.”
The International Olympic Committee barred Russian and Belarusian state media from participating in the tender process for European media rights covering four Olympic Games from 2026 to 2032.
Last week, the IOC announced that it had awarded exclusive European broadcasting rights for the 2026-32 Games to the European Broadcasting Union and Warner Bros. Discovery.
Russia and Belarus were again excluded from the list of 49 European territories eligible to broadcast the Olympics.
Russia did not air the Paris 2024 Olympics despite having purchased the rights years earlier. It was the first time in 40 years that it declined to broadcast the Games. Russian athletes were required to compete at the Paris Games without the national flag or anthem.
The IOC said in September that Russian and Belarusian athletes could compete at the 2026 Winter Games as neutrals if they met strict conditions, including passing background checks to ensure they had no ties to the military or security services. The Games will be held in Milan and Cortina.
The size of the neutral delegation will depend on international sports federations, which oversee qualification and, in some cases, continue to bar Russian and Belarusian athletes from competition.
Okko said that five Russian athletes — in figure skating, ski mountaineering and short track — have accepted invitations to compete as neutrals in Milan. At least one Belarusian figure skater has also received an invitation.
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