NBC Makes $3 Billion Deal to Lock Up Olympics

Last summer’s Paris Olympics delivered the gold for NBC, generating huge ratings and securing more advertisers than the 2016 Rio Games and 2020 Tokyo Games combined. Per NBC, digital ad revenue from the Paris Games more than doubled that from Tokyo, setting a record high for NBCUniversal.

Wanting to keep the wins rolling in, Comcast NBCUniversal announced a $3 billion deal with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that will keep the Olympics on NBC and Peacock through 2036. (No word if Snoop Dogg is expected to return in his instantly iconic sideline reporter role.)

The deal secures the broadcast and streaming rights for the 2034 Winter Games in Salt Lake City and the 2036 Summer Olympics. The agreement extends NBC’s existing contract, which is set to run through 2032, when the games will be held in Brisbane, Australia.

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Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts wrote in a prepared statement, “It is our honor to continue to bring the full power of our company’s expertise in creating and distributing content that connects with Americans, as well as to begin to provide even more innovative technological support and solutions to the IOC […]”

The $3 billion price tag “underscores the growing importance of live events for media companies—including streaming giants such as Netflix —which are increasingly drawn to the massive audiences and advertising opportunities such programming provides,” wrote Bruce Gil at Quartz. As we’ve seen with NFL games, the NBA and the much-hyped Jake Paul/Mike Tyson fight, TV networks and streamers are spending millions to secure broadcasting rights to bring in new subscribers and advertising revenue.

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