Two Winter Federations - the International Skating Union (ISU) and the International Luge Federation (FIL) - have joined three new sports on the Olympic programme in partnering with the Channel, which was launched on the day of the Rio 2016 Closing Ceremony on August 21.

The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), the World Karate Federation (WKF) and the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) have also all penned a deal with the Channel.

Today’s announcement brings the total number of IFs who have signed agreements with the Olympic Channel to 33.

There is no fee paid by either the IF or the Channel itself as part of these deals.

Mark Parkman, general manager of the Channel, told insidethegames at SPORTELMonaco here that a “productive” meeting had taken place with the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).

The IAAF, FIFA, the International Handball Federation (IHF), the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) and the International Surfing Association (ISA) are the only Federations yet to reach an agreement with the Channel.

The ISA did, however, agree to let the Channel broadcast coverage of its World Junior Championships in the Azores in September.

Parkman remains confident that the other federations will eventually come on board but stressed these agreements were not essential for both parties, pointing to the fact that they do not have a deal in place with the ISA yet they were still able to show one of their events live as an example.

“We look forward to working with our IF partners to extend the reach of Olympic sports and athletes outside of the Games themselves,” he said.

“Since we launched the Olympic Channel just two months ago, our IF partnerships have already contributed greatly to our programming line-up through live events, social media content, promotion and more ensuring that fans are able to continue their excitement of Rio and the Olympic Games all year long.”

It was confirmed in August that the Channel would screen coverage of 35 upcoming live events across a variety of sports up until the end of this year.

This has already included events such as the Men’s Final Olympic Qualifying Tournament in ice hockey, as well as the World Triathlon Grand Final.

December’s Badminton World Federation Super Series Finals in Dubai and Fencing Grand Prix tournaments in Torino, Doha and Montreal are among the events still to be broadcast on the Channel.

"WBSC is very honoured about this opportunity to have exciting international baseball and softball content shared on such a prestigious and innovative global multi-platform," WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari said.

"Not only is this a great promotional vehicle for baseball and softball, it also represents a new dimension in disseminating the Olympic message to the world – and connecting with our sport’s millions of athletes and loyal fans in over 140 countries.”