Under the deal, a series of programming blocs dedicated to the Olympics and channel content will begin from today on beIN Sports free-to-air before the official launch of a 24/7 linear subscription channel on November 1.

This will offer year-round coverage of Olympic sports and athletes and their quest for success across 24 territories in the region.

Live and "comprehensive" coverage of next year's Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang will be included as part of the collaboration in order to "amplify beIN’s rights-holding broadcast agreement with the IOC for the Olympic Games".

It will be co-branded as "BeIN Sports Home of the Olympic Channel". 

"We are excited to collaborate with beIN Media Group to deliver the Olympic Channel experience to their audiences throughout this important and growing region, bringing them closer to the Olympic Movement all year round," Olympic Channel general manager Mark Parkman said. 

"Our partnership with beIN to create a co-branded linear platform gives us a powerful position in MENA to further engage fans and new audiences with the Olympic Channel brand and the Olympic Games than ever before."

beIN Media Group is a Qatar-based entertainment company founded in 2014 as a successor to the Al Jazeera Sports.

Further programming is expected to include live broadcasts from beIN’s extensive sports media rights agreements, original series produced by the global Olympic Channel and archival footage from the IOC library as well as additional news and highlights.

It follows a similar deal with NBC Universal to showcase the channel in the United States,

"BeIN is passionate about sports," said the organisation's deputy chief executive Yousef Ak-Obaidly.

"We are constantly collaborating with our global partners to present sports to our subscribers in high quality. 

"The Olympic Channel debut in MENA beIN network demonstrates that beIN is the only premium destination for sports lovers in the region."