JTBC Confirms Exclusive Broadcast of the 2026 Winter Olympics... Not Available on Major Networks

JTBC will exclusively broadcast the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, which will open in February. On the 7th, the broadcaster officially announced that it will establish a broadcasting system in partnership with new media partner Naver.

JTBC previously secured exclusive broadcasting rights for the 2026-2032 Summer and Winter Olympics and the 2025-2030 FIFA World Cup. Although a public bidding process for resale of broadcasting rights was conducted, negotiations with major terrestrial broadcasters such as KBS, MBC, and SBS faced difficulties and developed into a conflict.

A JTBC official explained, "We conducted resale negotiations with several broadcasters to ensure that as many viewers as possible could access the Olympics, which is a matter of national interest, but we could not reach a final agreement."

As a result of this decision, viewing the Winter Olympics this year will not be possible through terrestrial channels. Viewers will only be able to watch the games through the online and broadcasting channels provided by JTBC and Naver.

The 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics will be held from February 6 to 22 for 17 days in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.

Meanwhile, JTBC plans to continue negotiations for future global sports events. A broadcaster official stated, "We plan to open a multilateral negotiation table starting in January for the FIFA North and Central America World Cup to be held in June this year, and we will seek cooperation with various operators in an open manner regarding major global sports events such as the 2028 LA Summer Olympics."