Fratellia is taking the newly-created position after moving from his current role of commercial director at the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).

It comes after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced in January that the European media rights for the four editions of the Olympic Games between 2026 and 2032 had been awarded to Warner Bros. Discovery, which owns Eurosport, and the EBU.

A recruitment process will now be led by Fratellia to build a support team for the Olympic project.

He has 25 years of experience in the sports rights sector and was previously head of football rights at the EBU.

Other jobs include roles with the French Football Federation and the UEFA Champions League.

"I am confident that Pascal's long experience in managing the football area and his knowledge of the business will add real value to this new position," said Glen Killane, the executive director of Eurovision Sport. 

"These are all necessary structural changes in the context of a department that is adaptable and flexible and one which strives to constantly improve the level of service we provide for our members. 

"Our entire team is totally focussed on this mission."

The IOC media deal in January guarantees free-to-air coverage of the Olympics through the EBU’s network of public service broadcasters.

It marks a return for the EBU which first broadcast the Olympic Games in 1956 in Melbourne, but was defeated by Discovery in a controversial auction in 2015. 

Discovery had eight-years ago signed a pan-European deal covering two Olympic cycles up to and including Paris 2024.

This was said to be worth €1.3 billion (£1.1 billion/$1.5 billion).

Discovery subsequently sub-licenced the rights to public service broadcasters. 

For the January deal, the EBU and Warner Bros. Discovery presented a joint bid to acquire all media rights across 49 territories in Europe for the 2026 Winter and 2028 Summer Olympic Games in Milan-Cortina and Los Angeles, respectively.

It also includes the 2032 Olympic Games in Brisbane and the 2030 Winter edition, which has yet to be awarded. 

The Youth Olympic Games are also covered