NBC Secures Olympic Games Rights Through 2032

In a stunning and monumental media rights deal today, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has awarded NBCUniversal (NBCU) the broadcast rights in the United States for the Olympic Games through 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 the Olympic Movement between 2015 and 2020.

“This is a happy day for the whole Olympic movement and we’re extremely pleased with this agreement,” said IOC President Thomas Bach, on a conference call earlier today. “We know that, with this long-time agreement, the Olympic Games are in good hands with a partner who we trust, who we have full confidence in. We can say this because of the long-time experience that we have with NBC, who have a more than excellent track record when it comes to broadcasting the Games. We are sure that this track record will even be improved in the future until at least 2032.”

NBCU, which in 2011, had acquired the right to broadcast the Olympic Games until 2020 (including the Games of the XXXI Olympiad in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2016, the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (2018) in PyeongChang, and the Games of the XXXII Olympiad (2020) in Tokyo), will now 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.

“The level of investment we made in 2011, combined with this investment, shows that the value we see in this property,” says NBC Sports Group Chairman Mark Lazarus. “The Games are very important pieces of media real estate for us in the United States, and if you look at the results of what we’ve been able to deliver, not only with… primetime but across every media platform, across all of our cable assets, across all the digital spectrum. Most importantly for the future, the rights that we are partnering with the IOC on is for whatever rights come over time and technologies get developed. With Comcast NBC Universal being at the apex of that media and technology cross section, we think we’re uniquely situated to take advantage and exploit that on behalf of Olympic fans in the United States.” 

By 2032, NBCU will have covered a total of 23 editions of the Olympic Games, since its first Games broadcast in Tokyo in 1964. This unprecedented long-term agreement demonstrates the confidence the IOC has in NBCU’s expertise and the excellent broadcast coverage it has delivered over many years.

“There is no greater global, cultural, and athletic event than the Olympics and we are so proud with this unprecedented extension of our partnership with the International Olympic Committee. We now have the privilege and the honor of presenting the Olympic games through 2032,” said Comcast Chairman and CEO Brian Roberts. “Since we’ve gotten involved, we have been committed to using Comcast’s unique position at the intersection of technology and media to further improve our Olympic coverage. Going forward, this commitment will continue as we combine Comcast technology leadership with NBC Sports’ creativity, storytelling, and unique expertise to reach even larger audiences”

The IOC distributes more than 90% of the revenue it generates to support the International Sports Federations; the 204 National Olympic Committees and their Olympic teams; and the Organising Committees of each Olympic Games.

Jason Dachman contributed to this report.