Bridgestone Named First Founding Partner of Olympic Channel
World’s Number One Tyre and Rubber Company Supporting Expanded Coveragefor Sports and Athletes in Multi-Year Deal

RIO DE JANEIRO (15 August 2016) – The International Olympic Committee (IOC) andBridgestone Corporation (Bridgestone) today announced a collaborative agreement thatmakes the world’s largest tyre and rubber company the first Founding Partner of the OlympicChannel. The new, ground-breaking digital platform, where fans can experience the power ofsport and the Olympic Movement all year round, will launch worldwide on Sunday 21 August
following the Closing Ceremony of the Olympic Games Rio 2016. The four-year partnership
between Bridgestone and the IOC extends through to 2020.
“We are delighted that our Worldwide TOP Partner, Bridgestone, has become an Olympic
Channel Founding Partner,” said IOC President Thomas Bach. “Bridgestone has
demonstrated its support for the Olympic Movement and belief in the Olympic values throughits long-term commitment as a Worldwide TOP Partner, and through this new agreement welook forward to working closely with them to bring the Olympic Channel to fans around theworld.”“This is a very exciting time for Bridgestone as our Worldwide Olympic Partnership marks
the first truly global marketing platform in our company’s history, and the Olympic GamesRio 2016 – the first ever in South America – are our first as a Worldwide TOP Partner. It isfitting that we also are the first Founding Partner of the Olympic Channel,” said Masaaki
Tsuya, CEO and Representative Executive Officer, Bridgestone Corporation. “The Olympic
Movement is universal and we continue to reaffirm Bridgestone’s longstanding support forsport and our belief that the core principles of Olympism – and the world’s greatest athletes– should be celebrated every day of the year.”
A Worldwide TOP Partner since 2014, Bridgestone is strengthening its commitment to theOlympic Movement and the Olympic Channel mission, outlined in Olympic Agenda 2020, toreach audiences around the world, beyond the Olympic Games period, 365 days a year. As

a Founding Partner, the company will play a key role in enabling the development of theOlympic Channel and will work with the Olympic Channel team to put content into the handsof fans anytime, anywhere, and on any device.
At the outset, Bridgestone will serve as the presenting partner of the Olympic Channel’s“Against All Odds”, an eight-episode documentary series that demonstrates the very
embodiment of the Olympic spirit and follows eight athletes. Each half-hour episode will
focus on one athlete, offering a first-person account of a key turning point, and how personal
will and determination helped them to overcome adversity and reach their goals. The first
episode in the series will premiere on 21 August, when the Olympic Channel launches.
Support for “Against All Odds”, and the Olympic Channel as a whole, furthers Bridgestone’s
proud history of innovation and its more than 100 years of sporting heritage – and also
deepens the company’s engagement with the passionate, performance-oriented fans who
follow the Olympic Games and sport around the world.
Bridgestone proudly became an official Worldwide Olympic Partner of the IOC on 13 June
2014. The 10-year partnership will see Bridgestone serve as a TOP Partner at the Olympic
Games Rio 2016, the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018, the Olympic GamesTokyo 2020, which is where the company’s global headquarters are located, the Olympic
Winter Games Beijing 2022, and the Olympic Games in 2024. The partnership also includes
support for the next three Youth Olympic Games, the IOC and National Olympic Committees
around the world.
###About the Olympic Channel
The Olympic Channel is a digital-first, multiplatform global Olympic media entity, which aims to broadcast theOlympic Movement and its inherent values all year round, especially in the periods between the Olympic Games.
The primary objectives of the Olympic Channel are to provide a platform for the continuous exposure of Olympic
sports and athletes beyond the Olympic Games period and to help create anticipation while providing
opportunities to "re-live the experience" after the Games; continuously highlight the relevance of the Olympic
Movement's ideals to the challenges of today's world; provide a platform for sharing the IOC's very richpatrimonial assets and archives with the world and create additional value and content for the IOC archives; andengage the young generations around the world using methods that are relevant to them, building understanding,entertainment and education. At launch, the Olympic Channel will be a digital platform, with on-demand content
available across the web, mobile, tablet and other connected devices where fans can experience the power ofsport and Olympism 24 hours per day, 365 days a year. Audiences will also be able to access content andengage through a variety of social media platforms as part of the Olympic Channel network. For more info,
please visit olympicchannel.com.
About the IOC
The International Olympic Committee is a not-for-profit independent international organisation made up ofvolunteers, which is committed to building a better world through sport. It redistributes more than 90 per cent of
its income to the wider sporting movement, which means that every day the equivalent of USD 3.25 million goesto help athletes and sports organisations at all levels around the world.
About Bridgestone
Bridgestone Corporation, headquartered in Tokyo, is the world’s largest tyre and rubber company. In addition totyres for use in a wide variety of applications, it also manufactures a broad range of diversified products, which
include industrial rubber and chemical products and sporting goods. Its products are sold in over 150 nations andterritories around the world.
For more information from the IOC, please contact the IOC Media Relations Team:
Tel: +41 21 621 6000 email: pressoffice@olympic.org, or visit our website at www.olympic.org.
For more information from Bridgestone, please contact the Bridgestone Americas Media Center:
Tel: +1-877-201-2373; for Japanese inquiries, calls should be directed to Daisuke Baba at +81 (80) 8036-4570.

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