http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/08/sports/olympics/nbc-extends-olympic-tv-deal-through-2032.html?_r=0
NBC Universal said Wednesday that it would pay $7.75 billion for the media rights to the six Olympic Games from 2022 to 2032, holding on to what has become a cherished property that attracts millions of people to its television and digital properties. "This is one of the most important days in the history of NBC Universal," Steve Burke, the company's chief executive, said in a statement. NBC Universal's financial commitment underscored the value media companies place on live event programming, an appraisal based on the belief that viewers of live events are more likely to sit through the commercials that finance massive rights fees. ESPN has followed a similar spending strategy to dominate college and professional sports in the United States: $15.2 billion for "Monday Night Football," $5.6 billion for Major League Baseball, and $7.3 billion for a 12-year deal to broadcast the new college football playoff system. But the Olympics have been an NBC dominion for decades, and it moved aggressively to protect its hold on them. In doing so, NBC had a willing partner in the International Olympic Committee, which agreed to renew its partnership with NBC Universal without competitive bidding from other media companies. The length of the deal did come with uncertainties. None of the six Olympics NBC Universal acquired Wednesday has been awarded to a host city, and some of the athletes who will compete in them have not been born. Yet NBC committed billions with the assurance that the new contract covered "all media properties" - even technologies that do not exist today. NBC has been acquiring its Olympic rights in expensive chunks. In two negotiations in 1995, it paid $3.5 billion for the rights to the Olympics from 2000 to 2008. Five years later, it acquired the rights to the 2010 and 2012 Games for $2 billion. And three years ago, it paid nearly $4.4 billion for four Games from 2014 to 2020. The new deal includes a $100 million signing bonus to promote the Olympic movement from 2015 to 2020. By doing so, it has foreclosed rival networks like ESPN, Fox and CBS from acquiring the Olympic rights. But none of them has shown the enthusiasm of NBC, which has used the wealth of its parent companies, first General Electric, and now Comcast, to finance its Olympic spending sprees. "Our long-term commitment to and investment in the Olympic movement are a reflection of our belief in the future of broadcast television," Brian Roberts, the chairman of Comcast, said in a statement, "as well as our confidence that our partners at the I.O.C. will continue to deliver great Games and that the Olympics will remain the world's premier sport event." _______________________________________________ Medianews mailing list [email protected] http://etskywarn.net/mailman/listinfo/medianews_etskywarn.net
