Covering the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympics

Annabel Weaver -

Important guidance for community broadcasters

The Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games are a major international event and can generate strong community interest. In Australia, Nine Entertainment holds the exclusive broadcast rights, so community broadcasters who are not rights holders must follow strict rules when reporting on the Games. These rules come from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) News Access Rules and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) News Access Rules.

This summary is an introductory overview of key requirements. Stations that plan coverage should read the full official documents linked at the end.

Key points for community broadcasters

1. General reporting is allowed

Community stations can report results, outcomes and general discussion about the Games in regular news bulletins. You may also interview athletes, coaches and community members. However you must not promote any program as official Olympic or Paralympic coverage or imply that your station has any formal relationship with the IOC, IPC or Nine.

2. Rights holder restrictions on audio and footage

Audio or footage from Olympic or Paralympic events that take place inside official venues is considered “Olympic Material” or “Paralympic Material.” Use of this material is tightly limited:

  • It must be part of a regularly scheduled news program.
  • You cannot broadcast play-by-play commentary from events.
  • There are limits on how much event audio can be used in news bulletins.
  • Any event material that is used must credit Nine.

If a station cannot confidently meet these conditions, the safest approach is to avoid using event audio or footage.

The full IOC rules for Australia are here:
→ https://stillmed.olympics.com/media/Documents/Olympic-Games/Milano-Cortina-2026/NARs/australia-supplementary-nar-milano-cortina-2026.pdf

3. Online publishing rules are strict

Online distribution of Olympic or Paralympic material, including on your website, social media, podcasts or on-demand streams, is treated as distribution beyond Australia unless it is properly geoblocked to Australian territory. If Olympic material appears online without compliant geoblocking, a station may be at risk of breaching intellectual property and broadcast rights protections.

If your station is not sure it can apply reliable geoblocking, keep all Olympic and Paralympic event audio and footage out of online content.

4. Sponsorship and promotion restrictions

You cannot use Olympic or Paralympic material in paid sponsorship or in a way that implies an association with any sponsor. You also should not use Olympic words, symbols or mascots in station branding or promotional material in a way that suggests official endorsement.

What stations can safely do

  • Officially report results and narrative in your own words.
  • Produce text-based updates on radio, websites and social platforms.
  • Interview community members, athletes or experts within the applicable interview rules.
  • Link to official Olympic or Paralympic sites for results or video provided by rights holders.

Community Broadcasting Association of Australia: Olympic advice & resources

The Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (CBAA) is the peak body representing community broadcasters and provides advocacy and resources for stations in Australia. While the CBAA did not issue separate official Games guidance for Milano Cortina 2026, in 2024 the CBAA circulated Olympics coverage guidance that reflected the IOC rules for community broadcasters and highlighted the need to follow rights holder obligations when using event material. That guidance was based on the IOC media guidelines circulated for the 2024 Paris Olympicsand emphasised that non-rights holders must be careful about how Olympic content is used on air and online.

Community broadcasters are also subject to the Community Radio Broadcasting Codes of Practice, which outline obligations for news content, sponsorship, editorial independence and other matters. These Codes are developed with input from the CBAA and approved by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).

Official documents you must review

Community Radio Broadcasting Codes of Practice (news, sponsorship and editorial obligations)
→ https://www.acma.gov.au/industry-codes-practice

Final reminder

If in doubt, take the most conservative approach. Avoid event audio, avoid Olympic branding, and be especially cautious with anything that appears online.