Winter Olympics Coverage

forzacalcio · 14-01-2026 06:18PM #1

Is there any schedule for the Winter Olympics next month? I know BBC are doing a max of 2 events at one time but are RTE doing anything or will discovery be available to watch other events? Have tried to sign up to TNT via Sky but its an absolute disaster and I can only get SD channels for some reason due to a glitch. What are the other options out there?

icdg · 14-01-2026 06:41PM

RTE have the rights to up to 100 hours of Winter Olympics coverage but whether they will broadcast anything like that, we will see. Up to the 2010s they didn’t broadcast anything at all and then in more recent Games, they broadcast an OBS highlights show on RTE News Now.

To be fair it must be appreciated that we are a country with little snow, no permanent ice rink (in ROI anyway) and the Team Ireland delegation is tiny - four competitors . RTE won’t devote the hours they give to the Summer Games while that remains the situation.

The main rights holder is TNT Sports and we will get the same linear coverage as the UK gets. There has been some indication that discovery+ customers of all packages will be able to access non-linear coverage but that’s not clear because a previous press release notably left Ireland out of a long list of countries (virtually every other in Western Europe including the likes of Andorra and Monaco) that would have non-linear coverage via HBO Max or discovery+. So we will see on that one.

odyssey06 · 28-01-2026 09:34AM

No sign of any coverage in the schedules for the opening ceremony \ opening weekend of action on RTE1 or RTE2.

AJB39 · 28-01-2026 12:39PM

No listings for it on the RTÉ News channel yet either though this may change closer to the time. They haven’t announced any coverage yet either which suggests they’ll offer the bare minimum coverage once again if at all.

icdg · 28-01-2026 03:06PM

Not even an OBS highlights show in the schedule.

Possible they will offer coverage on the Player though.

They do have the rights. Again it’s down to just a general lack of interest in winter sports here.

odyssey06 · 28-01-2026 03:22PM

Really miss Eurosport at times like this :(

Cosmo Kramer · 28-01-2026 03:23PM

The event is of limited interest - a self serving carve up between a dozen or so countries with winter sports facilities who have no interest in expanding outwards to include sports that represent what winter actually means in milder countries like Ireland. I'll be happy if RTE don't broadcast a minute of it.

csirl · 28-01-2026 03:36PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124187435#Comment_124187435

C"mon. Naturally enough those countries with snow have a tradition in winter sports. But the range of countries seems to have expanded in recent years e.g. Brazil, New Zealand and Belgium are among the serious medal contenders in Alpine Skiing.

icdg · 28-01-2026 04:05PM

It will be on BBC remember, which most Irish households will have access to, as well as TNT Sports.

Cosmo Kramer · 28-01-2026 05:29PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124187477#Comment_124187477

The phrase "winter sports" means different things in different parts of the world though. In Ireland and most of the UK there is next to no snow. So events like cross country running are winter sports here. Cross country has always historically been considered a winter sport. But the traditional Winter Olympics sports and nations are more interested in operating a closed shop sadly. I'll be giving it a miss.

odyssey06 · 29-01-2026 10:15AM

I wasn't expecting so much coverage on BBC.
On BBC2 on Saturday 7th February, their coverage runs from 9am to 10pm without interruption.
On Sundays across BBC1 and BBC2 there's about 12 hours of coverage.
Weekdays BBC2 coverage 13:00 - 14:00 & 17:15 to 22:00.

afatbollix · 29-01-2026 10:31AM

The BBC are now allowed to show everything live again. So expect most on iPlayer live.

They will have at least one channel live all day, showing it.

It will be on the basic Discovery + app which you get free with a Sky sub. If your also after more live coverage.

I don't think RTE know what downhill means….. So I don't expect much. Also name an Irish commentator who would know Ski Jumping….

icdg · 29-01-2026 01:08PM

They are listing the Olympics on the Irish Discovery+ website, so I guess that settles it (thankfully!). If the BBC coverage is not enough for you, at €4.99 for a month it won’t break the bank and there doesn’t appear to be a minimum term, so I presume you can cancel more or less immediately.

mike2084 · 30-01-2026 02:09AM

The official Olympics website is listing both RTÉ Player and Discovery+ as the Irish broadcasters for the Opening Ceremony:

Olympic Opening Ceremony - Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games

See halfway down the page.

con747 · 30-01-2026 03:42AM

A lot is listed here. https://www.wheresthematch.com/live-winter-sports-on-tv/?showdatestart=20260130&showdateend=20260302

Dodge · 30-01-2026 04:59AM

RTE are announcing their coverage next week according to a tweet from an RTE comms man

icdg · 30-01-2026 09:18AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124191641#Comment_124191641

Not ever any doubt that they had the rights! (as they have always had). It’s a question of how much they will show, and on what platforms. They do not have a history of doing the Winter Games any justice.

Dodge · 30-01-2026 11:34AM

I think they’ve given it the exact level of “justice” it deserves in Ireland, seeing as we only qualified 2 athletes (outside of the basic quotas in alpine skiing that every nation gets)

And I say that as someone who will watch more than 99% of Irish people

lertsnim · 30-01-2026 02:15PM

Give me live winter sports over whatever thing RTÉ 2 is repeating for the millionth time.

cena · 30-01-2026 03:33PM

I much prefer the Winter Olympics. Love the ice hockey

dublinman1990 · 30-01-2026 09:47PM

I just seen after the end credits of The Zoo that RTÉ will be showing the opening ceremony next Friday along with a daily highlights show every night exclusively on the RTÉ News Channel.

byte · 30-01-2026 10:32PM

It'd be a good time for RTÉ News channel to be HD on Saorview so!

Alas, I wouldn't hold my breath on that one, even though there was a tender process some time back.

AJB39 · 30-01-2026 11:30PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124193686#Comment_124193686

That’s pretty much the same coverage as RTÉ have given previous Winter Olympics then.

lertsnim · 31-01-2026 12:04AM

RTÉ abandoning hours of live coverage. Thank goodness for UK broadcasters

mike2084 · 31-01-2026 02:28AM

Think this is the first time that Ireland has been specifically mentioned in a WBD press release in regard to Discovery+ streams (right down in the Notes to Editors), unless I've missed an earlier one.

WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY AND TIKTOK SET TO BRING OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES CONTENT TO NEW AUDIENCES DURING MILANO CORTINA 2026 | Welcome to WBD Sports

AJB39 · 31-01-2026 09:49AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124194259#Comment_124194259

Yes it’ll be the first time since the Eurosport channels closed here that Irish subscribers have been given any access to any sport content on Discovery +. I presume it’ll just be the live streams of events and not the TNT sports channels themselves which will remain on Now.

Dodge · 31-01-2026 04:51PM

To be fair RTE aren’t “abandoning” the coverage. They’re choosing not to pay for it.

As I said, I’d watch it more than most, but I’d absolutely be in a tiny, tiny minority so their decision is very understandable

icdg · 31-01-2026 07:40PM

That’s part of the trouble. They have already paid for it. They’re entitled to show 100 hours.

https://about.rte.ie/2023/01/16/rte-secures-broadcast-rights-for-olympic-games-from-2024-until-2032/

But they aren’t abandoning it either - this is all they’ve ever shown, and go back 20 years and if you mentioned the Winter Games to RTE the response would have been “what’s a Winter Olympics????”.

csirl · 31-01-2026 07:51PM

Knowing RTE, they"ll spend a fortune sending a load of execs and others to "cover" the opening and closing ceremonies in the bright lights of Milan. But no chance they"ll go half way up a mountain in the sud Tirol to cover the downhill.

mike2084 · 02-02-2026 02:37AM

There was a mention of RTÉ's coverage in the listings section of Culture in The Sunday Times, it stated that the Opening Ceremony will be live on RTÉ News Channel from 6:55 on Friday. The daily highlights programme will be available from 10pm nightly on the RTÉ Player. Doesn't appear to be anymore than that.

icdg · 02-02-2026 04:15PM

Coverage announcement. They are showing the events with Irish competitors on the Player plus a daily highlights show.

https://www.rte.ie/sport/olympics/2026/0202/1556347-rte-to-bring-live-action-from-winter-olympics/

Winter Olympics Coverage

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