Here’s a deal that would make former NBC Sports President Dick Ebersol proud. NBCUniversal, the home of the Olympics dating back to 1988 will continue its current deal that would have expired in 2020 with the Tokyo games and extended it through the year 2032.
This gives NBC rights to all platforms, broadcast and cable TV, internet and mobile rights plus any technology that has yet to be invented. The value is worth $7.65 billion dollars plus a $100 million signing bonus.
Under the new deal, the first Olympics would be the 2022 Winter Games at a site that has yet to determined.
When the contract expires in 2032, NBC will have aired 23 total Olympiads including the 1964 Tokyo Summer Games, 1972 Sapporo Winter Olympics and the boycotted 1980 Moscow Olympics. NBC began its current Olympic legacy with the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea and continued with the 1992 Barcelona Summer Games and the 1996 Atlanta Games. Its first Winter Olympics were the 2002 Salt Lake City Games.
In 2011, NBCU won the deal that began with this year’s Sochi Games and will extend to the 2020 Tokyo Summer Games.
Here’s the official International Olympic Committee announcement.
IOC awards Olympic Games broadcast rights to NBCUniversal through to 2032
Agreement ensures the long-term financial security of the Olympic Movement
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) today awarded NBCUniversal (NBCU) the broadcast rights in the USA for the Olympic Games through to 2032.
NBCU has acquired the broadcast rights across all media platforms, including free-to-air television, subscription television, internet and mobile. The agreement from 2021 to 2032 is valued at USD 7.65 billion, plus an additional USD 100 million signing bonus to be used for the promotion of Olympism and the Olympic values between 2015 and 2020.
The agreement is a major contribution to the long-term financial stability of the entire Olympic Movement. The IOC distributes more than 90 per cent of the revenue it generates to support the International Sports Federations; the 204 National Olympic Committees and their Olympic teams; and the Organising Committees of each Olympic Games.
IOC President Thomas Bach, who led the negotiations, said: “This agreement is excellent news for the entire Olympic Movement as it helps to ensure its financial security in the long term, in particular future host cities of the Olympic Games, the athletes of the 204 National Olympic Committees and the International Sports Federations. The IOC has worked in close partnership with NBC for many decades, and we are thrilled we will continue to work with them through to 2032. NBC’s expertise in sports broadcasting, as well as their passion for the Olympic values, will mean we shall be able continue to offer first-class broadcast coverage of the Olympic Games to the widest possible American audience for many years to come.”
Brian Roberts, Chairman and CEO, Comcast Corporation said: “The Olympics are the world’s greatest cultural and athletic event, and presenting them to the American audience is an honour and privilege for our entire company. Our long-term commitment to and investment in the Olympic Movement are a reflection of our belief in the future of broadcast television, as well as our confidence that our partners at the IOC will continue to deliver great Games and that the Olympics will remain the world’s premier sports event. All of us at Comcast NBCUniversal are extremely proud that we have been entrusted to be the U.S. home for nine more Olympics, and we look forward to using all of our resources to continue our tradition of ground-breaking Olympic coverage.”
Steve Burke, CEO, NBCUniversal, said: “This is one of the most important days in the history of NBCUniversal. The Olympics are part of the fabric of our company, and we couldn’t be more excited that today’s announcement guarantees that this massively popular and profitable programming will continue to air every two years on the broadcast, cable, digital and mobile platforms of NBCUniversal for the next two decades. No event brings families together like the Olympics, and no-one in media is more accomplished or better equipped to tell the athletes’ stories than NBC Sports. I want to thank the IOC for their faith in us, as well as Sports Group Chairman Mark Lazarus and NBC Olympics President Gary Zenkel, whose leadership was invaluable in bringing this deal to fruition.”
NBCU, which in 2011 had acquired the right to broadcast the Olympic Games until 2020 (including the Games of the XXXI Olympiad in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2016, the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (2018) in PyeongChang, and the Games of the XXXII Olympiad (2020) in Tokyo), will now broadcast every Olympic Games through to 2032, the host cities of which are yet to be elected. In addition, NBCU also has acquired the broadcast rights for every edition of the Youth Olympic Games through to 2032.
By 2032, NBCU will have covered a total of 23 editions of the Olympic Games, since its first Games broadcast in Tokyo in 1964. This unprecedented long-term agreement demonstrates the confidence the IOC has in NBCU’s expertise and the excellent broadcast coverage it has delivered over many years.
More coming up later.
