NBC/Versus - NHL deal seen as bargaining experience for upcoming Olympic bids

TMC1982

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Has CBS and Turner given any solid rationale for why they aren't heavily involved in the bidding?
 

Adz

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Has CBS and Turner given any solid rationale for why they aren't heavily involved in the bidding?

CBS probably loses too much from the NFL already. This says they make it back up on shows that bookend the games but my guess is that depends on the team's record and the market. They break it up into regional areas and I know Nashville quit watching the Titans around the 3/4 mark (with the occasional check in to see if anyone had killed someone yet.)

CBS has some good shows and may start to show some profit soon but my guess is they're not ready for another potential money loser when they know so many viewers will be watching the Olympics on myP2P at 3 AM if they're really interested.

http://www.bizoffootball.com/index....e-nfl&catid=44:articles-and-opinion&Itemid=61
 

kdb209

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Interesting - instead of pulling back, Comcast/NBCU doubled down.

The IOC was soliciting bids for ('14) Sochi and Rio ('16) - but said it would accept bids for '18 & '20, even though those games haven't even been awarded yet.

I haven't seen any number reported yet - but I wonder if Comcast was the only bidder willing to go for all 4 games.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/08/sports/nbc-wins-tv-rights-to-next-four-olympics.html

NBC Wins TV Rights to Next Four Olympics
By RICHARD SANDOMIR
Published: June 7, 2011

NBC extended its Olympic reign until 2020 as Comcast, its parent company, agreed Tuesday to acquire the rights to the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia; the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro; and the next two Olympics, at unspecified cities.

It was NBC’s first Olympic deal since 1988 without Dick Ebersol, the head of NBC Sports, who resigned last month after helping to engineer eight winning bids. The victory was a sign that Comcast saw the value of continuing the relationship with the Olympics, with its powerful impact in prime time.

...

But this week’s three-network auction came in the aftermath of the global recession, NBC’s $223 million loss in Vancouver and the possibility that it would lose at least that much in London.

Comcast, ESPN and Fox had said that they would be prudent and not bid wildly.

...

Fox officials made their presentation first Monday, followed Tuesday morning and afternoon by ESPN and NBC. Their audience consisted of nine officials of the Olympic committee, including Jacques Rogge, its president; Richard Carrión, the I.O.C. member from Puerto Rico, who was in charge of the auction, and Timo Lumme, the director of television and marketing services. At the end of NBC’s presentation, each network placed a sealed envelope containing its bid into a plexiglass box.

Multiple reports are saying the deal is worth ~$4B.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304474804576371600435865450.html

NBC Said to Retain Olympic Rights for Four Games
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — Officials with knowledge of the decision say NBC has retained the U.S. television rights to the Olympics in a four-games deal through 2020 valued at more than $4 billion.

Two officials spoke to the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the decision has not yet been officially announced by the International Olympic Committee.
 
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kdb209

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http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/nbcuniversal-wins-rights-2014-2020-195572

NBCUniversal Wins Rights to 2014-2020 Olympics (Report)
12:52 PM 6/7/2011 by Georg Szalai, Marisa Guthrie

The company beat out fellow suitors ESPN/ABC and Fox Sports.

NEW YORK - NBCUniversal/Comcast on Tuesday won the U.S. broadcast rights for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Games and the following two Olympics, beating out ESPN/ABC and Fox Sports, which had also bid for the rights package in presentations in Lausanne, Switzerland. The Associated Press first reported that the incumbent prevailed.

It wasn't immediately clear how high the company's winning bid had been.

...

After a Monday presentation by Fox, earlier on Tuesday, the delegations of Walt Disney's ESPN, including its three presenters - ESPN/ABC Sports boss George Bodenheimer, Disney CEO Robert Iger and John Skipper, ESPN’s executive vp, content, and NBCUniversal/Comcast, including Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts and NBCUni CEO Steve Burke, had presented.

The 90-minute ESPN/ABC presentation and Q&A focused on what Disney, ESPN and ABC could collectively bring to the table, stressed the company’s plethora of platforms and highlighted its desire to provide live coverage, according to a source. When the delegation left, it came across the NBCUniversal/Comcast group that was gathering in the hotel, according to sources.

After everybody had their turn, suitors on Tuesday submitted sealed bids, which the International Olympics Committee then opened to make a decision.

The IOC had opened the bidding for the 2014 and 2016 Olympics, but also allowed suitors to include the following two Olympics in their offers. The IOC was believed to have been looking for offers in the $2.2 billion range, which had won NBC its previous rights deal.

However, the company lost $223 million on the most recent Winter Games in Vancouver, which marked the first time that the U.S. network airing the Olympics didn't make money. And observers have predicted more losses for next year's Olympics in London.

Fox Sports made two offers – one for a package of two Games and one for four, according to a source. Their price tag weren't known.

Experts have said that $1.5 billion-$1.7 billion in advertising revenue will be generated by the 2014 and 2016 Games, with network carriage fee increases and other revenue streams necessary to turn a profit
 

kdb209

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http://www.businessinsider.com/nbc-wins-olympic-tv-rights-2011-6

NBC Wins The Rights To Broadcast The NEXT 4 Olympic Games
Dashiell Bennett | Jun. 7, 2011, 12:49 PM | 316 | comment 1

The AP reports the NBC has won the rights to the next four Olympic Games.

Steve Wilson of the AP was the first with the news.

There was concern that NBC, after letting Sports Chairman Dick Ebersol go, would not be willing to commit the necessary resources to the project, but Comcast and GE were clearly still devoted to the Games, locking them up for the next 12 years.

Financial details of NBC's bid have not been made official yet, but AP says it's worth more than $4 billion.

...

There were many complaints about the lack of live coverage at the Vancouver games, but since both FOX and ESPN made live coverage an important staple of their bids, presumably, NBC will have to step and make more (if not all) of the event available live, somewhere.

Rio is only 1 hour ahead of the East Coast in the United States, but Socchi is 8 hours ahead.

Since merging with Comcast, and the addition of their various regional cable networks and Versus, NBC Universal should have plenty of more real estate for live events and promotional content.

UPDATE: Richard Sandomir of the NY Times says that ESPN only bid for two Olympics and that FOX made both two and four-games offers. That may have been the clincher for NBC.

UPDATE 2: Sports Business Journal confirms deal is more than $4 billion and "heavily backloaded."

Other reports are saying there will be a 2PM EDT press Conference in New York.
 

LadyStanley

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Looks like the era of tape delay is over. I'm sure they will still have the taped prime time show like now, but you will be able to watch it live if you want.

Or, they'll schedule the Prime Time show for 9pm ET and show it live at 6pm PT.
 

IU Hawks fan

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Or, they'll schedule the Prime Time show for 9pm ET and show it live at 6pm PT.

That's not what he's talking about.

He means that say there is a track event at 2 eastern. It will air live at 2 eastern and then air again during the primetime show. Up until now, the prime time show would be the its first airing.
 

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They're recognizing that tape delay doesn't fly anymore. People who want to will watch it live so they may as well show it on something where THEY will reap the benefits.
 

kdb209

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Or, they'll schedule the Prime Time show for 9pm ET and show it live at 6pm PT.

That's not what he's talking about.

He means that say there is a track event at 2 eastern. It will air live at 2 eastern and then air again during the primetime show. Up until now, the prime time show would be the its first airing.

But where they can, they will likely schedule the big ticket events so that they are live during eastern primetime.

This is likley in Rio (EDT + 1 hr), less so in Sochi (EST + 8 hrs), and who knows in '18 & '20 sites TBD.
 

Jonas1235

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That's great that all events will be live, but all of the events will be over by 9 am et. What are they going to do the rest of the day? Show highlites? Have the Olympics as a tuneup for Days of our Lives?
 

kdb209

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http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2011/06/nbc_wins_tv_rights_for_games_until_2020.php

NBC wins TV rights for Games until 2020

Karolos Grohmann
Reuters US Online Report Sports News

Jun 07, 2011 17:21 EDT

BERLIN (Reuters) - NBC Universal beat rivals FOX and ESPN to secure U.S. broadcasting rights to four Olympic Games from 2014 until 2020 in a deal worth $4.38 billion on Tuesday.

"It was very strategically important to have a long relationship and have four more Games and not just two. It was a big part of our strategy," Brian Roberts, Chairman and CEO of Comcast told a conference call.

"The depth of coverage and accessibility to U.S. consumers will never be greater," he said.

...

It acquired the rights for all platforms, including free-to-air television, subscription television, internet and mobile TV, the IOC said.

...

"We will make every event available, on one platform or another, live," NBC sports chief Mark Lazarus said.

The broadcaster had been criticized for using tape-delay to show some Olympic events on prime time as recently as the Beijing 2008 Olympics and Vancouver 2010 winter Games.

Hosts for the 2018 and 2020 winter and summer editions have yet to be chosen.

"The numbers did enter into it but I will tell you we were blown away by the presentation, the passion that this (NBC) team has for the Games. It was very impressive," the IOC's chief negotiator Richard Carrion said on the call.

"What was very clear was the full four-Games bid, that is what put us over the line," he said.

Carrion said NBC would pay just over $2 billion for the U.S. broadcasting rights for the 2014-2016 Games and about 2.38 billion for the next two Games package.

He said the breakdown per Games would be $775 million for 2014, $1.226 billion for 2016, $963 million for the 2018 Games and $1.418 billion for the 2020 Olympics.

While offers from the rival broadcasters were not released, officials close to the IOC said the ESPN and FOX offers were each well below the $2 billion and $4 billion levels for a two-Games or four-Games package.

...

Fox Sports Media Group chairman David Hill said in a statement: "We congratulate NBC/Comcast and would like to thank President Rogge... for giving us the opportunity to participate in the process, demonstrating how FOX Sports would produce the Olympic Games, provide wide distribution, the largest marketing platform ever and an economic package we believed to be good for the IOC and News Corp."

ESPN, in turn, said they had offered as much money as they thought made sense for such a product.

"We made a disciplined bid that would have brought tremendous value to the Olympics and would have been profitable for our company.

"To go any further would not have made good business sense for us. We put our best foot forward with a compelling offer that included the enthusiastic participation of all of The Walt Disney Company's considerable assets."
 

LadyStanley

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That's great that all events will be live, but all of the events will be over by 9 am et. What are they going to do the rest of the day? Show highlites? Have the Olympics as a tuneup for Days of our Lives?

Repeats. I recall the Summer Olympics with the 3 pay per view channels. About 12 hours of live stuff, followed by repeats of the same.
 

kdb209

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Jan 26, 2005
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That's great that all events will be live, but all of the events will be over by 9 am et. What are they going to do the rest of the day? Show highlites? Have the Olympics as a tuneup for Days of our Lives?

Repeats. I recall the Summer Olympics with the 3 pay per view channels. About 12 hours of live stuff, followed by repeats of the same.

And remember:

"We will make every event available, on one platform or another, live," NBC sports chief Mark Lazarus said."

It's quite possible that much of that "live" content may be online subscriiption streaming, some dedicated a la carte $$$ cable channels, or some other mechanisms to monetize the content over multiple platforms - while still retaining much of the traditional daytime and primetime block programming as a mix of live and recorded fare.
 

Jazz

Registered User
So this makes VERSUS (or NBC Sports Channel, or whatever else it may be called by then) an Olympic channel.

Thus, it will get (a) better distribution overall (availability, hotels etc) and (b) a more favorable position within the channel lineup as well (ie, near ESPN, not some 200 channels up the dial).

Therefore, this is good news for the NHL on this level as well, as regular season and playoff games will be more accessible to the casual fan!
 

IU Hawks fan

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So this makes VERSUS (or NBC Sports Channel, or whatever else it may be called by then) an Olympic channel.

Thus, it will get (a) better distribution overall (availability, hotels etc) and (b) a more favorable position within the channel lineup as well (ie, near ESPN, not some 200 channels up the dial).

Therefore, this is good news for the NHL on this level as well, as regular season and playoff games will be more accessible to the casual fan!

This was gonna be the case either way just because of the NBC/Comcast merger (or buyout, whatever you want to call it). NBC Sports will now be part of the package that providers pay NBCUniversal for CNBC, MSNBC, USA, Bravo, Syfy, etc.
 

knorthern knight

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Universal Sports is also broadcast OTA as a digital subchannel in some locations. Here is the list. I live in Toronto, and can pick up Universal Sports, free OTA, on digital 2.2 out of Buffalo.;)
 

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