The inaugural games from August 28 to September 6 will involve about 800 athletes and 300 officials from Australia, Asia, North America and New Zealand.
Winter Games chief executive Arthur Klap said yesterday a contract in excess of $500,000 had been secured with Sky TV for 55 hours of broadcasting in New Zealand of all sports at all venues.
The venues are Wanaka, Queenstown, Naseby and Dunedin.
"For winter sports it is fantastic, because normally we get very little coverage," Mr Klap said.
"It will highlight the stars that people don't get to see very often, like [free skier] Jossi Wells, people who train overseas, our adaptive skiers.
How often do we get to see our cross-country skiers on TV?"Sky has also been asked to broadcast tourism "vignettes" from each of the areas hosting the games.
A half-hour preview of the games is being prepared for broadcast next month, with Destination Queenstown, Lake Wanaka Tourism and Tourism Dunedin supplying footage to be used in that production.
"A really important part of the television production is our ability to promote Dunedin, Naseby, Wanaka and Queenstown," Mr Klap said.
The 55 hours of direct television coverage begins on September 1 next year and does not include repeats and highlights packages, which would also be broadcast each day until the games closed on September 6.
The first few days would also be filmed, with coverage delayed until September 1, Mr Klap said.
Deals have also been struck with Fox TV (Australia) and ESPN (Asia) to broadcast games coverage internationally.
Mr Klap said negotiations were continuing as to how many hours those broadcasters wanted to obtain from Sky.
Other international broadcasters with rights to film at the Winter Olympics have been approached to see how much coverage they might want from the New Zealand event.
Mr Klap said the television coverage was "full", although not all of it would be live because of limits on the number of available outside broadcast vans.
The outside broadcast vehicles are used at national cricket and rugby games and can contain up to four television editing desks.
Logistics had been worked out by Sky.
Events would be filmed and cameras would relay the film to the live editing suites in outside broadcast vans based at Cardrona, Queenstown and at Coronet Peak.
From there, edited film would be sent to Sky's Auckland base for broadcast throughout New Zealand and for supply to international broadcasters.
