Who holds Olympic and Paralympic broadcasting rights after 2026?

Keep those CBC Gem passwords handy. Following Milano Cortina 2026, Canada’s public broadcaster will continue as the country’s Olympics rightsholder for the next three iterations of the Games — though the future of Paralympics broadcasting remains unclear. CBC/Radio-Canada announced in 2022 that it had reached an agreement with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to broadcast the Olympics through the 2032 Summer Games, set to be held in Brisbane, Australia. That would also give the broadcaster exclusive rights to the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, U.S., as well as the 2030 Winter Games in the French Alps. “It’s the biggest thing we do as a company,” said Chris Wilson, executive director of CBC Sports, at the time. “It draws the biggest audiences. It is one of the most relevant things we do that brings the country together.” The Olympics is considered one of sports broadcasting’s crown jewels, as more than 16 million Canadians tuned in to watch the 2026 opening ceremony on CBC and other networks (though thousands complained about the programming being interrupted by advertisements). During the 2025 Summer Olympics, Canadians consumed 614,000 hours of content during the two-week event, an increase of 153 per cent compared to the previous Games. Furthermore, the CBC’s second quarter year-over-year revenue decreased by 43.2 per cent in 2025 compared to the previous year, when Paris 2024 was held, showcasing the event’s financial importance to the organization. For the 2026 Games, all sports are available through CBC and CBC Gem, the broadcaster’s streaming service, while select events can also be watched on Rogers Communication Inc.’s Sportsnet and BCE Inc.’s TSN, both of which have reached sublicensing partnerships with the public broadcaster. Beyond 2032, broadcasting rights for the Olympics remain available, meaning it’s uncertain which network will carry the 2034 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, along with subsequent Games for which host cities have not been determined. In a recent interview with The Hill Times, Andrew Baker, chief external affairs officer at the Canadian Olympic Committee, said the organization is committed to pursuing future bids in the 2030s and 2040s, though no such efforts have been formalized. Recently, a Vancouver bid to host the 2030 Winter Olympics fell apart after the provincial government refused to offer support. Canada has hosted three Olympics, including the 1976 Summer Games in Montreal, as well as the Winter Games in 1988 (Calgary) and 2010 (Vancouver). Regarding Paralympic coverage, the CBC struck a deal to carry the event in 2026, but the organization’s ability to deliver future iterations of the Games has not yet been solidified. Unlike the Olympics, which the IOC has previously bundled in negotiations, the Paralympics broadcasting rights are sold by the host country’s organizing committee and, as such, offered only on a games-by-games basis Considering the CBC only secured broadcasting rights for the 2026 Paralympics in July 2025, it remains to be seen which network will receive the rights for future events. “The Olympics sell broadcast rights as multi-Games deals,” said Leon Mar, a spokesperson for the CBC, in an email to The Wire Report. “The rights for the Paralympics are sold differently.” “ I can confirm that CBC/Radio-Canada intends to pursue Paralympic broadcast rights for future Games.” According to Craig Spence, chief communication officer at the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), the process for negotiating broadcasting rights for Los Angeles 2028 will begin after next month’s Games. “The rights sit with each individual organising committee, and the IPC sell the rights on their behalf,” said Spence in a statement. “Due to this model, it is not always easy to strike long-term deals due to some Organising Committees not yet having a broadcast function.” “We will start LA28 sales later this year and currently with French Alps 2030 they do not have a broadcast person in position which means we cannot advance anything.” More than 216,000 Canadians watched the opening ceremony for the 2024 Paralympic Games, while 9.6 million tuned in to watch portions of the 2020 Paralympics. Spence added that, in the Canadian market, each cycle starts with a “blank canvas,” but he expects “discussions will be had with the CBC,” which he called a “long-time and valued broadcaster of the games.” The CBC first broadcast the Olympics during the 1956 Games in Melbourne, Australia, while the broadcaster has held the sporting event’s exclusive Canadian rights since 2014. dlegree@thewirereport.ca

Who holds Olympic and Paralympic broadcasting rights after 2026?

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By Davis Legree
|February 17, 2026

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Who holds Olympic and Paralympic broadcasting rights after 2026?

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