The milestone was reached courtesy of more 25,000 pieces of video content, representing all Olympic sports disciplines and 206 countries, being produced since its launch four years ago at the end of Rio 2016. 

Continuing its upward viewership trend, there was a 65 per cent increase over the previous 12 months in monthly returning users, they claimed. 

On social media, the Olympic Channel community has grown to more than 10.4 million, with 74.9 per cent of those engaging with content on social media under the age of 35.

Key to the Olympic Channel’s fourth year of success was its coverage and promotion behind Lausanne 2020 as a worldwide digital rights holder, which led to the event being the most digitally consumed Winter Youth Olympic Games to date.

Additional growth drivers during the past year include the Boxing Qualification Events for Tokyo 2020, digital engagement campaigns for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) during the COVID-19 pandemic, which highlighted athletes and home workouts across social media, localised content in Japan and India, award-winning original programming and coverage of key events in support of Tokyo 2020.

Juan Antonio Samaranch, chair of Olympic Channel Services, said: "Over the course of four years, the Olympic Channel has made great strides in reaching fans and younger audiences and where and how they consume content by providing more personalised content across multiple platforms.

"With less than a year to go to Tokyo 2020, now taking place in 2021, we expect another record-breaking year ahead as the Olympic Channel team continues to build excitement for the Olympic Games both in Japan and to a worldwide audience."

Distribution of Olympic Channel-created content in 12 languages has also increased through the implementation of a multi-platform strategy that includes the digital ecosystem of Tokyo 2020 and the Olympic Channel itself.

The Olympic Channel continues to collaborate with Tokyo 2020 to develop and build its digital offerings and operate the international versions of the Games-time website, which launched on February 26 this year, and mobile app, due to go live in spring 2021.

In addition to the IOC’s owned and operated digital platforms, the Olympic Channel has established a new distribution outlet for its 95 International Federation partners and has streamed more than 5,400 live events.

Also contributing to the Olympic Channel’s success are strategic distribution partnerships with the IOC’s rights-holding broadcast partners and National Olympic Committees, including recent launches on CBC GEM in Canada, Swisscom in Switzerland and 7plus in Australia, bringing a linear presence to 175 territories complementing the global digital platform.

Raffaele Chiulli, President of the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) said: "The Olympic Channel has provided GAISF’s members with an invaluable platform to amplify the efforts of athletes, to reach global audiences and to maximise the inspirational impact of sport. We value the Olympic Channel as a vital partner, helping us to tell sport’s stories every day."

Mark Parkman, general manager of the Olympic Channel, added: "Engaging fans with a deeper and more immersive digital experience by serving more relevant content is a key area of growth for us.

"The past several months have brought unprecedented challenges to our industry and organisation.

"But our ability to continue to grow during the COVID-19 pandemic is a testament to the global appetite for inspiring, entertaining and compelling stories featuring Olympic sports and athletes and the tireless efforts of our entire team to engage fans with the Olympic values."