The International Olympic Committee awarded NBCUniversal the broadcast rights for the Olympic Games through 2032, it was announced Wednesday.
The agreement from 2021 through 2032 is valued at $7.65 billion, plus a $100 million signing bonus for the promotion of Olympism and Olympic values between 2015 and 2020. More details are here.
“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,” International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said. “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.”
NBCU previously acquired the rights to all Olympics through 2020 in 2011. It has broadcast every Winter Olympics since 2002 and every Summer Olympics since 1988. By 2032, NBCU will have covered a total of 23 editions of the Olympic Games, since its first broadcast of the Tokyo 1964 Summer Games.
“This is one of the most important days in the history of NBCUniversal,” NBCUniversal CEO Steve Burke said. “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.”
The next Olympics will be in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2016; Pyeongchang, South Korea, in 2018 and Tokyo in 2020. The 2022 Winter Olympics will be awarded to a host city in 2015.
“The Olympics are the world’s greatest cultural and athletic event, and presenting them to the American audience is an honor and privilege for our entire company,” Comcast Corporation Chairman and CEO Brian Roberts said. “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.”
The U.S., which hasn’t hosted an Olympics since the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games, could bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics.
“We are thrilled that we will be working side by side with NBC for the next 18 years,” USOC CEO Scott Blackmun said. “This is a good day for American Olympic athletes and hopefuls. NBC’s demonstrated ability not only to broadcast the Olympic Games, but to tell the stories of our athletes in a way that makes our nation proud, makes them an ideal partner. We feel very fortunate that they want to make a long-term commitment to the Olympic Movement.”
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