NEW YORK — There were many reasons to think NBC made a savvy business deal in 2014 when it locked up the American media rights to the Olympics through 2032 for $7.75 billion.These Olympics were a disaster for the network: a buzz-free, hermetically-sealed event in an... NEW YORK — There were many reasons to think NBC made a savvy business deal in 2014 when it locked up the American media rights to the Olympics through 2032 for $7.75 billion.
Beijing, like Tokyo last year, took place in an environment where the primary objective was to prevent the spread of COVID-19. That meant no fans or athletes’ families in the stands, no quirky stories about the host country and even few announcers: most of NBC’s team worked from an office building in suburban Connecticut.
NBC Sports chairman Pete Bevacqua said ratings are in line with what they told advertisers, who are sold packages that include linear and streaming coverage. NBC has not yet said whether the Beijing games turned a profit or lost money. While there has long been corruption in the bidding process for the Olympics, the Valieva episode tarnished the actual competition, Billings said.For NBC, “this feels like a particularly vulnerable moment,” said someone closely involved with the Olympics and television, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of ongoing business ties.
Bevacqua and NBC realize there is work ahead to build an Olympic brand that has been tarnished over the past six months.
“May”? Ha
Hate to see it
were the Olympics recently on TV?