Dressage-News

LAUSANNE, Switzerland, May 7, 2014–NBCUniversal on Wednesday was awarded Olympic broadcast rights for the United States to 2032 for $7.75 billion (€5.57 billion) that also makes the American company the primary underwriter of the worldwide Olympic movement.

The unprecedented agreement between the International Olympic Committee and NBCU covers all media platforms, including free-to-air television, subscription TV, Internet and mobile beyond the current agreement from 2021 to 2032. NBCU’s payment is broken up into an amount of $7.65 (€5.5 billion) for broadcast rights and a $100 million (€78.7 million) signing bonus to be used to promore Olympism and and the movement’s values between 2015 and 2012.

The IOC distributes more than 90 per cent of the revenue it generates to support international sports federations; the 204 National Olympic Committees and their Olympic teams, and the Organizing Committees of each Olympic Games.

IOC President Thomas Bach of Germany, who led the negotiations, said: “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.”

The IOC has partnered with NBC for many decades, he said, “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.”

Brian Roberts, chairman and CEO of Comcast Corp. that owns NBCU said: “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. 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.”

NBCU in 2011 acquired the right to broadcast the Olympic Games until 2020, including Rio de Janeiro in 2016, the 2018 winter Games in PyeongChang and Tokyo in 2020. The new agreement means NBCU will broadcast every Olympic Games through to 2032, the host cities of which are yet to be elected. In addition, NBCU also has acquired the broadcast rights for every edition of the Youth Olympic Games through to 2032.