Olympic storytelling from the IOC recognised with Sports Emmy Awards nominations
International Olympic Committee
14 Apr 2023 – Original Olympian-led documentary-films produced by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) – The Redeem Team and 72 – A Gathering of Champions – have been honoured with a host of nominations for the industry-leading Sports Emmy Awards. Longstanding Olympic Media Rights-Holder (MRH) NBC Universal has also been recognised with 10 nominations for its dynamic coverage of the Olympic Games Beijing 2022.
72 – A Gathering of Champions, an emotive four-part series produced by the Olympic Channel and Mark Ciardi and directed by Emmy-award winner Jonathan Hock, which sees Olympians relive both the personal triumphs and unimaginable tragedy they experienced during Munich 1972, has also been nominated for Outstanding Documentary Series.
Combining remarkable restored film footage and new personal accounts from the athletes whose lives were deeply touched by the events of this time, each one of the four, one-hour episodes explores different stories and perspectives from the Games, including from the likes of record-breaking swimmer Mark Spitz (USA), athletics stars Mary Peters (Great Britain) and Heide Rosendahl (Germany), and gymnasts Karin Janz (Germany) and Olga Korbut (USSR). The final episode in the series focuses on the tragic terror attack against the Israeli team during the Games, which shook the entire world.
The Redeem Team, a documentary film that chronicles the incredible journey of the USA’s basketball team at the Olympic Games Beijing 2008, has been nominated for Outstanding Long Documentary as well as Outstanding Editing – Long Form.
The Redeem Team tells the inspirational story of the US men’s basketball team that went to Beijing 2008 bidding to restore their nation’s reputation, following their shock bronze medal at the Olympic Games Athens 2004. Featuring never-before-seen footage from the Olympic archives, alongside interviews with the legendary athletes and coaches who were part of the iconic squad, the documentary offers an original and fascinating portrait of team-building and how it launched a new era of Team USA basketball at the Olympic Games.
The film was executive produced by Olympic champions LeBron James and Dwyane Wade and produced by the Olympic Channel along with the Kennedy/Marshall Company and Mandalay Sports Media, in association with 59th and Prairie Entertainment, UNINTERRUPTED, NBA Entertainment and USA Basketball. The film was directed by Jon Weinbach, and was the first collaborative feature documentary between the IOC and Netflix.
In addition, the wider Olympic Movement has also been recognised, with NBC Universal receiving 10 nominations for its coverage of the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, including a nomination for Outstanding Live Special.
Mark Lazarus, Chairman, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, said: “NBCUniversal’s presentation of the Beijing Olympics dominated across all platforms and once again showed that nothing captivates Americans for 18 consecutive days and nights like the Olympic Games.”
The Sports Emmy Awards recognise outstanding achievement in sports programming, with these nominations further demonstrating the IOC’s commitment to telling compelling Olympian-led stories that inspire and engage people around the world.
The winners of the 44th Sports Emmy Awards will be announced by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) at a ceremony in New York on 22 May.
