The Milan Cortina Winter Olympics will have special significance for Warner Bros. Discovery. Not only is the entertainment conglomerate the games’ official broadcaster in Europe, but HBO Max is the flagship streaming hub of the Feb. 6-22 snow and ice sports extravaganza just as its rollout in the region completes.
Warner Bros. Discovery, which owns the Eurosport network, will be airing 865 hours of live Olympics games spread out over 15 venues. Their coverage includes 116 medal-worthy events in 16 sports, some of which, like ski mountaineering, will be making their Olympic debut.
During the lead-up to the Feb. 6 opening ceremony — which will feature Mariah Carey singing in Italian, an Andrea Bocelli performance and a mix of Hollywood and Italian stars icons — “Heated Rivalry” breakouts Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie carried the Olympic torch. They are also expected to resurface during the games as part of the promotional push for the show — about a steamy romance between two rival hockey players — that is currently launching across Europe on HBO Max.
Below, Variety speaks to Warner Bros. Discovery Southern Europe chief Alessandro Araimo about how the Olympics play into the HBO Max rollout effort in Europe and why the fact that the Milan Cortina games are the most spread out in Olympic history will “create great beauty” for viewers.
How important are the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics as a driver for HBO Max’s European rollout?
The Olympics are certainly among the best premium content we can offer our HBO Max subscribers. So much so, that they are included in the HBO Max package — not in the sports package. So they are just like the major entertainment series and films we offer. For us, it’s key content — both from a subscriber acquisition perspective and a subscriber consumption perspective — on the platform. And also from a marketing, communication and brand association perspective between HBO Max and, of course, the five Olympic rings.
Regarding brand association, having “Heated Rivalry” stars Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie as official torchbearers was a buzzy marketing coup especially since “Heated Rivalry” will release on HBO Max in Italy on Feb. 13. Will they also resurface in some way during the actual games?
I can’t comment on that at this time.
HBO Max will provide cutting-edge immersive coverage through an integrated platform that allows users to watch up to four events simultaneously on a single screen. How will the Winter Olympics experience on HBO Max differ from the Eurosport channels that are also carried by DAZN?
Eurosport is de-facto HBO Max’s sports offering. It’s HBO’s sports brand for the entire Olympics coverage. The distinction is only based on technological features used to enjoy the content. But the content, in terms of editorial curation, is exactly the same in terms of the quality that the Eurosport brand guarantees.
Marco Balich, who is producing the opening ceremony, has said it will be more somber than other recent Olympic openers, with less Hollywood stars and more focused on showcasing Italy. What’s your take on that?
From my point of view, the branding — so to speak — of this year’s Milan and Cortina Olympics clearly nods to the “Made in Italy” theme. This is an aspect that must necessarily play a role, as always happens with these types of events, during the ceremony. I think it will be a beautiful ceremony. It will also feature a few surprises. One aspect that will be very interesting to see are the two Olympic Cauldrons lit [simultaneously] in Cortina and in Milan’s Parco Sempione park.
Speaking of which, the Milan Cortina games are the most spread-out in Olympic history. How will this impact coverage?
There’s a remarkable logistical and production complexity involved. From a production standpoint, we’ve managed it with a multi-location presence in four key areas: Milan, Cortina, Bormio and Livigno. This wasn’t easy, because it required creating three studios that require perfect data connectivity between them. The technical staff will probably travel less than they usually would because their movements would be too long to manage and traveling by road is complicated by traffic. So yes, there is complexity. But in my opinion, this will create great beauty from a media standpoint. From the perspective of people watching the Olympics, I’d say this beauty is going to be unparalleled.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Araimo, above right, is pictured with Italian Olympic Committee chief Luciano Buonfiglio.
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