NBC Retains Rights to Olympics

NBC has retained the rights to the Olympics through 2020 in a new deal that covers four more games.
Comcast, NBC's new parent company, agreed Tuesday to acquire the rights to the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, and the next two Olympics, whose host cities have not yet been chosen. The deal is worth $4.38 billion.
NBC Universial CEO Steve Burke said he was "extremely pleased" to continue to carry the games.
"Broadcasting sports events is an important part of our business and the Olympics are obviously a significant part of the portfolio," Burke said. "We have a talented and experienced team in place with a legacy of outstanding Olympics coverage and we are all looking forward to London next year and to Sochi and Rio after that."

Dick Ebersol leaving as head of NBC Sports

NBC, which has broadcast every Summer Olympics since 1988 and every Winter Games since 2002, was locked in a three-way bidding war with ESPN and Fox. The victory is a big one for the network, which was thought to be at a disadvantage after former NBC Sports head Dick Ebersol, who brokered eight winning bids, left last month.NBC last won a bid eight years ago when it agreed to pay $2 billion to carry last year's Winter Games in Vancouver and next year's Summer Games in London. The network lost $223 million in covering the Vancouver Games.