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What Ebersol’s Exit Means to NBC’s Bid for Olympics

May 20, 2011  •  Post A Comment

The departure of NBC Sports & Olympics President Dick Ebersol has raised questions about whether NBC will continue its push to get rights to the Olympic Games, and the initial answer comes from the International Olympic Committee, Deadline.com reports.

According to IOC President Jacques Rogge, the executive shakeout won’t change NBC’s plans to bid for the next round of U.S. Olympic broadcast rights, the story says.

Rogge said Comcast Chairman and CEO Brian Roberts and NBCUniversal chief Steve Burke assured him that they plan to continue with the bid. Competing bids are expected to come from ABC/ESPN and Fox.

Ebersol has overseen previous bids on NBC’s behalf, which has broadcast every Summer Olympics since 1998 and every Winter Games since 2002, the piece notes.

2 Comments

  1. It is nice of Rogge to keep the competition guessing. But you have to believe that Ebersol leaving may reduce the amount of risk (cash) that Comcast wants to take. With Ebersol out, it could mean a significant reduction in what the final Comcast bid is. That could have a significant impact on the final rights fee.

  2. Yes, Dick Ebersole was a GREAT sports executive, but I never understood where/how he got a role in the rest of the operations of NBC. I guess if you let him start coming to meetings, he’s going to think he runs the place. The sports were fantastic.

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