Early reports from Lausanne, Switzerland, peg NBC's bid at $4 billion, which would make this the most expensive TV rights deal in Olympic broadcast history.
While many observers predicted that Comcast-NBC Universal would come up short in Lausanne, the Peacock on Tuesday outflanked rivals ESPN and Fox for the blockbuster four-event package.
News of the winning bid began flooding Twitter at approximately 12:45 p.m. EDT. The Associated Press was the first media outlet to announce the deal.
The bid is believed to have been secured by new NBC Sports/Olympics chairman Mark Lazarus, who was supported by as many as 16 Comcast-NBCU higher-ups, including Comcast Corp. CEO Brain Roberts and GE president of Olympics Sponsorship, Peter Foss.
Fox had also submitted a bid for the 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2020 Games, but NBC either put up more cash for the rights to broadcast the events or it presented a more compelling narrative.
The news comes just three weeks after longtime NBC Olympics steward Dick Ebersol took leave of the network. While Ebersol was famously chummy with the Olympics’ governing body, IOC officials were apparently able to look past his glaring absence.
Since 1992, Ebersol had won the rights to 10 Olympic Games. He was also responsible for producing NBC’s coverage.
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