Georgian Public Broadcaster Director General Tinatin Berdzenishvili has reviewed upcoming sports events that the GPB First Channel will air in the new season.

In an interview with GPB First Channel’s Time Out program, the GPB Dir/Gen stressed the importance of covering the Paralympics and various types of sports.

“We were the first to broadcast the Paralympics, which is important for us and sparked great interest. We will spare no effort to cover more sports on our channels. Only in 2022, we spent GEL 5 million on sports broadcasts, which again benefits sports and positively impacts the economy.

We are considering EuroBasket with greater intensity as hosting the European Basketball Championship is a great honour for Georgia, and we are seriously preparing for it. The channel is ready for EuroBasket. We kick off a new season with European Water Polo Championship – it is paramount for us to have obtained the licenses for the European and World Championships. Our national team performed well in the World Championship, and the Public Broadcaster has strategic cooperation in this regard.

This year, Public Broadcaster will air the bulk of tournaments, including the 2022 World Championship. UEFA Nations League matches had an unprecedented number of viewers across all platforms. The big sport starts in August, and at the end of the year, we will provide the World Championship. This is a holiday for everyone, and the channel is preparing for it,” Berdzenishvili said.

Tinatin Berdzenishvili claims that Public Broadcasters in all the countries pay special attention to the Olympics and Paralympics.

“We will offer viewers the Paris Olympics in 2024 and the next Paralympics. In general, the Olympics is linked with the Public Broadcaster in all countries, and it is crucial for us that we are already getting ready for it. We covered important weightlifting and judo tournaments, and European and world championships and will do so. The Rugby World Cup will be held, and our viewers will find it interesting.

Until 2028, we also own the rights to exclusive shows of the European and World Football Championships. We have a lot of friendly matches, and we cooperate with the federations to make sports more diverse and cover all sports,” Berdzenishvili stated.