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NBC takes over the Olympics

This is an excerpt from Sports, Media, and Society by Kevin Hull.

While CBS and TNT had a short run of broadcasting the Winter Olympics following ABC’s departure, the Olympics ­were about to become the exclusive property of NBC. In 1989, Dick Ebersol was named the new head of NBC Sports, and he de­cided to make the Olympics the centerpiece of the network’s sports portfolio. ­Under Ebersol’s leadership, NBC has been the broadcast home of the Summer Olympics in the United States since 1988, has been the home of the Winter Olympics since 2002, and, as of this writing, ­will continue to be the network of both ­until (at least) 2032. This decision has not come cheaply. Over the years, NBC has paid nearly $20 billion to be the exclusive broadcaster of the Games for ­every Summer and Winter Olympics since 2000 (Isidore, 2014).

Why Broadcast the Olympics?

With NBC spending billions of dollars on the Olympics, it is impor­tant to address why a ­television network would want to broadcast the Games. First, ­there is a prestige that is associated with the Olympics, and having the events can boost the reputation of that network. NBC proudly touts that it is Amer­i­ca’s home for the Olympics and begins promoting their coverage months in advance of the Opening Ceremonies.

In addition, the Olympics take place during summer and winter months that are traditionally slow at ­television stations. Most programming is on reruns during this point and the sporting calendar is filled with regular-­season games that ­will likely not draw the sports media’s attention away from the Olympic coverage. Therefore, the Olympics gives a network live, brand-­new programming when most other stations are broadcasting shows or events that ­will be of less interest. This makes the Olympics especially appealing to viewers and advertisers. Even in 2022, when Olympic viewership was among the lowest ever, NBC was still expected to be the most-­watched channel during all 17 nights of the Games (Reedy, 2022).

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