NBC Locks up the Olympics

ifmanis5

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Through 2032.
 
http://www.nbcsports.com/olympic-sports/ioc-awards-olympic-games-broadcast-rights-nbcuniversal-through-2032?cid=social_nbcnews_main_20140507_23423754
 
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Wednesday 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.
 
 

gaelgirl

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Well... I like their Olympic theme. NBC does some things really well, and is really, really frustrating at other aspects of broadcasting the Olympics. For example, tape delay for the Vancouver Olympics. Ridiculous. 
 
But they seem to be getting better, at least. 
 

ifmanis5

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Every year I guess 'well this is the year that the Olympics will get no TV ratings' but it always rates. American housewives really really really like their figure skating and gymnastics because that's what drives these ratings.
 

Detts

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ifmanis5 said:
Every year I guess 'well this is the year that the Olympics will get no TV ratings' but it always rates. American housewives really really really like their figure skating and gymnastics because that's what drives these ratings.
And Curling.  Lots and lots of Curling.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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Detts said:
And Curling.  Lots and lots of Curling.
 
They may show a lot of curling, but rarely do they ever show it in prime time, on a primary network, or on tape-delay (barring perhaps a condensed "highlights" version of a match).  Fair to say that in the most recent Games, it was far and away figure skating that got the over-saturation treatment in pursuit of those "housewife" ratings, given they aired most of it live in real time during the day AND on tape-delay in prime time.  Barely any other sport got that treatment.
 

trekfan55

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Lose Remerswaal said:
Who is going to be watching on over the air television in 2020 and 2024, nevermind 2032?
 
 
From the quoted article:
 
NBCU has acquired the broadcast rights across all media platforms, including free-to-air television, subscription television, internet and mobile.
 
 
NBC has covered everything, so whatever way the Olympics are watched in those years, NBC will deliver it.  How they plan to make money off all of that is a different story.
 

JimD

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How ESPN/ABC continue to let this happen is a complete mystery to me.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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mascho said:
I consider it a gift from God. The world does not need Chris Berman giving Eastern European bobsledders nicknames.
 
On the other hand, ESPN would turn over a minimum of three of their channels (say the Deuce, ESPNews and ESPNU) to 24/7 Olympic coverage for the duration (not select or spotty usage like NBC does with CNBC, MSNBC, and USA), and they'd still have the main ESPN channel and ABC for the primetime, story-driven programming.  And I have to believe the WatchESPN/ESPN3 portal is far superior to the crap NBC ran as their online outlet.
 
I hate ESPN with a passion, but I also think there's no better US-based media outlet set up to cover something like the Olympics to everyone's satisfaction.
 

The Napkin

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Yeah, ESPN/ABC was my wet dream
 
You could have thrown ABC family in there for another 24/7 channel. Alas...
 

ifmanis5

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FYI, the next time a US city could host an Olympics is 2024. Boston is one of the top 7. Why any city wants to throw away money on this is beyond me.
 

The top contenders are Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Dallas, Washington, Philadelphia and Boston. That list will be cut to two or three cities by the end of May, and the U.S.O.C. hopes to have one city selected by the end of the year.