Jeffrey Orridge has been named the general manager of the CBC’s Olympic-related business as it gears up to broadcast the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games and 2016 Rio Summer Olympic Games.

Orridge has been with the CBC since April 2011, and adds the Olympic duties to his role as executive director, sports properties. Kirstine Stewart, EVP, CBC English Services, tells MiC that Orridge has a great relationship with the International Olympic Committee and was chief amongst the reasons why the CBC won the two upcoming editions of the Games.

“It is important for us to have a single point of reference for clients going into the Olympics,” says Stewart. “In London we saw that the way people watched the Olympics changed and by the time we get to Sochi things will be completely different still. We need someone who understands that, we will have a lot of partners, a lot of licensees coming forward, and the challenge will be how do we get all that Olympic content out to the public in the best possible way.”

Stewart says the CBC already has a built-in team of staff with years of Olympic experience who are gearing up for the 2014 and 2016 Games, having been the host Canadian broadcaster for the Olympics for years prior to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, which were the first of two for  the Canadian Olympic Consortium.