It has it locked in for the next 11 years, at least. Per The Hollywood Reporter, NBCUniversal parent company Comcast just signed a $3 billion deal with the International Olympic Committee to keep the games exclusive to the network through at least 2036. The media company wasn’t in any danger of losing the games before this; its previous deal, signed over a decade ago, was set to run through the 2032 Summer Games in Brisbane, Australia. The new agreement, which supersedes the previous and is considered effective immediately, adds the 2034 Winter Olympics (Salt Lake City) and 2036 Summer Olympics (TBD), as well as a handful of “new, innovative joint strategic initiatives and projects.”
Those strategic initiatives will likely include a lot more Snoop Dogg and Tom Cruise as the IOC prepares to set up shop in Los Angeles for the 2028 games. On the more technical side, the partnership also includes beefed up technical, video and advertising support from Comcast, including technology and infrastructure support, support for the Olympic Broadcasting Service (OBS) in venues, development of an OBS video player, and U.S. digital advertising opportunities.
With this “groundbreaking” deal, Comcast shifts from a traditional media rights holder to a “strategic partner,” in the IOC’s words. “Thanks to [Comcast’s] innovative approach, serving on all platforms from linear to streaming and digital, we can now take our partnership to new heights for the benefit of athletes, Olympic stakeholders, organizing committees and fans.” IOC president Thomas Bach said in a statement. “The media landscape is evolving rapidly and, by partnering with one of the world’s leading media and technology companies, we will ensure that fans in the United States are able to experience the Olympic Games like never before.”
It works out pretty well for NBC too, which broke its own advertising record at the Paris games last year. Let’s just hope the broadcaster has the good sense not to send Colin Jost out as a surfing correspondent ever again.
