LAUSANNE, Switzerland – Comcast’s NBC Sports Group spent over $4 billion to hold on to the U.S. media rights to the next four Olympic Games, the network announced Tuesday.
Defeating rival bids from ESPN/ABC and Fox, NBC offered $4.38 billion for the exclusive rights to the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as well as the 2018 Winter Games and 2020 Olympics, whose sites have not yet been chosen. NBC has broadcast every Summer Olympics since 1988 and every Winter Games since 2002.
Traditionally, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) awards the rights for two games at a time, but this time the networks expressed interest in going for a four-games package, despite not knowing where the last two will be held. The IOC will select the 2018 host city on July 6 from the list of candidates which includes Annecy, France; Munich; and Pyeongchang, South Korea. The host of the 2020 Olympics will be chosen in 2013, and Rome is the only official contender so far.
