In a landmark announcement on Tuesday, Marketing & Media Solutions (MMS) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) unveiled a groundbreaking agreement for free-to-view broadcast rights covering the Olympic Summer, Winter, and Youth Games for the 2026-2032 cycle. This partnership aims to significantly enhance access to Olympic content across sub-Saharan Africa through free-to-air channels.
Under this agreement, MMS will serve as the regional distributor of free-to-view broadcasting rights for a wide network of broadcasters, ensuring that local audiences have greater access to Olympic events. The deal guarantees over 200 hours of free coverage for the Summer Olympic Games and includes guaranteed coverage for the Winter Games.
The extensive package encompasses several key upcoming events: the Los Angeles Summer Olympics in 2028, the Brisbane Summer Olympics in 2032, the Olympic Winter Games in the French Alps in 2030, as well as the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar 2026 and the Dolomiti Valtellina Winter Youth Olympic Games in 2028. Notably, Dakar 2026 will kick off this year on October 31, marking a historic moment as the first Olympic event ever to be hosted on African soil.
Anne-Sophie Voumard, Managing Director of IOC Television and Marketing Services, emphasised the significance of the agreement in expanding free-to-air coverage in the region. “We are excited about this collaboration with MMS and are committed to providing exceptional free coverage of the Olympic and Youth Olympic Games across sub-Saharan Africa,” she stated.
MMS CEO Redha Chibani also highlighted the company’s commitment to working closely with local free-to-air broadcasters. Partnering with the IOC allows us to bring a new era for the Olympic Games; we will create a platform that enables broadcasters to tailor Olympic coverage to meet the interests of their audiences, stakeholders, and sponsors. Our shared goal is to deliver the best viewing experience in every country,” he noted.
Founded in 2022 as a sports marketing agency focused on the sub-Saharan region, MMS previously managed the African qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Additionally, the agency is currently responsible for distributing rights for World Athletics from 2024 to 2029 and for all AFC competitions from 2025 to 2029, as well as organising coverage for the FIFA Club World Cup in 2025.
The agreement covers 44 territories, including Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Togo, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. It’s important to note that in Chad and Djibouti, the rights are non-exclusive, while Senegal is excluded from the Youth Olympic Games rights.
