Business of Winter Olympics – Beijing Winter Olympic Games Overview, Impact of COVID-19, Sponsorship and Media Landscape

The Winter Olympics is one of the biggest events in the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) event roster, taking place in Beijing in 2022 as a recent host of the Summer Games in 2008. Typically, the Winter Olympics operates on a smaller scale than the summer equivalent, with winter sports providing fewer events and athletes with fewer medals up for grabs. Because of this, there is less commercial power behind the Winter Olympics than the more star-studded summer games. This is apparent in comparisons between the media and sponsorship portfolios between the two most recent editions of the winter and summer Olympic Games.

While the Winter Olympics provides great visibility for the IOC’s chief sponsors, known as its TOP sponsors, the winter sports provide less of an opportunity for non-TOP partners, evidenced by the fact that Beijing 2022 sees a smaller number of unique sponsors than the delayed Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics. The Winter Olympics in Beijing this year sees 46 unique sponsors, brands who have identified the Beijing event as being an opportunity to gain access to a significant/relevant audience. This compares to 73 brands who opted to partner with the IOC exclusively for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, delayed to 2021 because of the pandemic, highlighting that the Summer Games is a more internationally appealing event in terms of branding opportunities and prestige. Moreover, of the 46 unique sponsors for the Beijing Winter Olympics, only three are brands based outside of China, this compares less favorably to the delayed Tokyo Games, where 11 sponsors were headquartered outside of Japan.

What are the market dynamics in the Beijing Winter Olympics Games?

The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics holds 27 fewer unique sponsors than the delayed Tokyo Summer Olympic Games, with 46 unique sponsors. Bridgestone, Omega, and Panasonic have used Winter Olympic branding to promote their association with the event, with other TOP sponsors forgoing leveraging their position as a main Olympic sponsor. Across social media channels and company websites, only 50 of the advertising inventories have been used by TOP sponsors to promote Winter Olympic partnerships.

Which are the key sponsorship deals in the Beijing Winter Olympics Games?

The biggest deals that are active for the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games are all brands that are currently signed up to the IOC TOP Sponsorship Programme. This provides brands such as Coca-Cola, Alibaba, and Airbnb with sponsorship rights to IOC events over their agreed partnership length, with the Summer Olympics being the key event over such partnerships.

The Winter Olympics of 2022 however, present a unique set of circumstances for the IOC’s TOP partners, given the quicker than usual turnaround from the postponed Tokyo Summer Olympics, there has been a shorter lead time on marketing efforts. TOP sponsors have also had to wrestle with the difficult issues surrounding diplomatic boycotts and human rights abuse accusations leveled at the host nation.

What is the media landscape of the Beijing Winter Olympics Games?

NBC’s partnership with the IOC, which provides exclusive USA, Puerto Rico, and Guam coverage for the six winters and summer Olympic Games between 2022 and 2032 is the biggest deal in the IOC’s broadcast portfolio. The deal is reportedly worth $765 million annually over the ten years, until the 2032 Summer Games in Brisbane.

Eurosport, owned by Discovery, hold the most lucrative rights outside of the USA, between 2018 and 2024. Like NBC, the partnership covers multiple summer and winter Olympics. Discovery and Eurosport, have invested in the rights in all languages and platforms across 50 European territories, securing free to air rights along with pay-TV plus internet and mobile rights. Moreover, Discovery and Eurosport have committed to showing a minimum of 200 hours of the summer Olympics and 100 hours of the winter Olympics on free-to-air television following the IOC’s specified minimum exposure guarantees. The deal excludes the UK and French broadcasting rights for the 2018 Winter Olympics and 2020 Summer Olympics, for which the BBC and France Télévisions respectively already have contracts. The Russian broadcast rights are also being sold separately.

Who are the top sponsors of the Beijing Winter Olympics Games?

The top sponsors of the Beijing Winter Olympics Games are Mengniu, Coca-Cola, Toyota, Alibaba, Airbnb, Intel, Allianz, Bridgestone, P&G, and Atos.

Mengniu accounted for the biggest deals in the Beijing Winter Olympics Games followed by Coca-Cola and Toyota.

Beijing Winter Olympics Games, by sponsors

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Market Report Scope

Scope

The report looks at the commercial portfolio of the two events, looking at its unique sponsors and deal values. The report also considers the media portfolios of the events, analyzing the deallocations for the Winter Olympics and the breakdown of pay-TV vs free to air. The report also discusses the marketing response by the IOC’s TOP sponsors, looking at which sponsors are activating their partnership across all social media channels and their company website.

Key Highlights

Highlights include a breakdown between payTV and free-to-air channels broadcasting the Winter Olympics and the value this represents to the IOC. Further highlights include direct comparisons between the Winter Olympics and the Summer Olympics regarding sponsorship and broadcast portfolios. Further highlights include a breakdown of the advertising activity of the IOCs TOP sponsors.

Reasons to Buy

Readers will gain an understanding of the commercial landscape of the IOC’s two chief events, with a specific focus on the Winter Olympics. Readers will also gain access to deal data for major European broadcaster Eurosport, owned by Discovery, who have sub-licensed various rights deals across Europe for Winter Olympics coverage.