The channel would purely be online and would use content centered on British athletes in a similar format to the one used by the Olympic Channel, which is expected to hit the screens later this year following the conclusion of Rio 2016.

Sweeney said the BOA would “partner” with the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) project by helping drive traffic to the Olympic Channel, while the IOC would then promote the BOA's product.

The BOA chief executive claims his organisation were the first National Olympic Committee to partner with the Olympic Channel, which will feature content such as live sporting action, along with news, athlete stories and footage from the IOC archives.

A total of 27 International Federations have penned agreements with the Olympic Channel, but sports such as athletics and football have not yet partnered with the project.

It is hoped launching an online channel focused purely on British competitors will help maintain the public’s interest in Olympic sports outside of the Games period.

“We have been investigating a concept which involves pretty much the same idea as the Olympic Channel but purely for the UK market,” Sweeney said here.

“We think it is a great thing.

“They face the same challenges as us - we don’t want to see those peaks and troughs - and we are trying to maintain the interest in Olympic sport over a long period of time.

“We see an opportunity to have a British-focused channel and we think that is relevant in the UK but we can also drive traffic to the IOC’s channel and vice versa.

“It would be similar in aims and objectives to what you see from the Olympic Channel and we would partner with them.”

Britain’s Chef de Mission Mark England has again set a target for the team of achieving their best-ever haul at an away Olympic Games.

Their highest tally to date came at Beijing 2008, where they returned with a total of 47 medals, 19 of which were gold.

“This is the most talented team Britain has taken away to an Olympic Games,” England said.

“The depth and the pedigree that we have in the team gives us great confidence that we are there to do better than Britain has ever done at an away Games.”