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NBC Retains Olympic rights through 2020


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If NBC had bid 3.5 billion, they still won't have won, the IOC would have asked for a new round of bidding. And either FOX or NBC would have had to step up. NBC did so without the prompt because they knew any less then 4 billion would not be accepted.

Let the Bleeding Begin

And that's where they were STUPID again. What if all 3 networks refused to bid OVER 3.8 billion? What would the IOC do? Hold off? Ask other networks? No. Like when they had no place to go but L.A., they would accept the best bid. But again, the numbnuts at NBC played right into the IOC's hands. They (and their stockholders) have only themselves to blame if all of those 4 Games end up in the red again. As it is, with $223 million loss for Vancouver, $200 mil for London; I'd guess another $250 for Sochi -- that's already something like $673 million losses by March 2014...on their Olympic investment...not to mention any losses in NBC's regular programming! So they would have to make at least (average) $250 mil for the next 3 Games to show a little profit. NBC, dumb 20 years ago; dumber still, 20 years later!!

And imagine, ABC & Fox sent only like 9 and 6 executives respectively to Lausanne, NBC sent 19, repeat 19!! Right there, I am sure NBC's junket already cost at least $190,000 -- not if they went by chartered jet. But then again, if they are savvy, they would at least break up the echelons of their executive ranks into at least 3 separate groups so that if one plane went down, the ranks would not be decimated. So I think I would stand by them flying commercial jet.

(Plus, the slickest, most expensive presentation, I am sure. Add another -- wild guess...$45,000. So this trip alone would've cost NBComcast at least $235,000 already!! -- even before the 1st 2014 commercial was sold!!) Whereas ABC and Fox probably spent in the $80,000 - $125,000 range each. I'd love to take NBC on the carpet if I were a Comcast shareholder!!

NBC - Numbnuts Bleeding Corporation

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Not that I care, but perhaps it's not in such good taste to be making plane crash jokes about NBC executives. Just saying.

Anyways.. yes, NBC made the EXACT same blunder they did last time out and I think it's being under-reported just how bad of an error that is. For everything with Ebersol exiting and Comcast entering and how that would mean a "sensible bid" this time, I guess the new management is no smarter than the old management. I mean, did they really think $4.4 billion was the number they needed to win? It's not about how much money they make or lose as much as it is how much more they spent than they needed to. If they wind up breaking even on these 4 Olympics, hindsight tells us that's probably at least $400 million they could have made had these executives been better at predicting what the other networks would do. Memo to Steve Bruke and Brian Roberts.. avoid playing poker, you'd be terrible at it!

Beyond that, I'm not sure how much it costs to send executives to Switzerland (and baron, I see you revised your numbers downward from your original post), but at least NBC's money was spent to win. Besides, what's $235,000 when you just committed $4.4 billion to spend! As opposed to ESPN/ABC, let's say they spent $100,000 on their Olympic bidding, how'd that work out for them. Money tossed down the drain based on the low-ball bid that even they knew had little chance of succeeding. Moral of the story though is even if NBComcast breaks even (which they claim they can), there should be some serious regret in that for the extra over-the-top money they didn't need to spend.

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1. Not that I care, but perhaps it's not in such good taste to be making plane crash jokes about NBC executives. Just saying.

2. Beyond that, I'm not sure how much it costs to send executives to Switzerland (and baron, I see you revised your numbers downward from your original post), but at least NBC's money was spent to win. Besides, what's $235,000 when you just committed $4.4 billion to spend! As opposed to ESPN/ABC, let's say they spent $100,000 on their Olympic bidding, how'd that work out for them. Money tossed down the drain based on the low-ball bid that even they knew had little chance of succeeding. Moral of the story though is even if NBComcast breaks even (which they claim they can), there should be some serious regret in that for the extra over-the-top money they didn't need to spend.

1. It was NOT a joke. I dunno where you got the idea. I merely stated a contingency plan that large countries or organizations should keep in mind when sending your leadership overseas on any airplane flights. So stop with your self-righteousness.

2. Yeah...yeah...yeah. I knew you would try to diminish the comment. You can NEVER have another party have the last say, can you? I understand what is $250,000 or $100,000 compared to a couple of billion dollars? But again, my bigger point escapes you. This was MERELY a small example of the bid-spending styles and non-limits that the 3 organizations put themselves through. That was all.

Jeez. You just want to have the ultimate say, just because you work in the industry. More often than not, most of the threads here become collaborative efforts, with various posters contributing to the overall topic rather than always being subjected to a condescending stance some of your posts seem to ooze of. Think about that for a moment.

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1. It was NOT a joke. I dunno where you got the idea. I merely stated a contingency plan that large countries or organizations should keep in mind when sending your leadership overseas on any airplane flights. So stop with your self-righteousness.

2. Yeah...yeah...yeah. I knew you would try to diminish the comment. You can NEVER have another party have the last say, can you? I understand what is $250,000 or $100,000 compared to a couple of billion dollars? But again, my bigger point escapes you. This was MERELY a small example of the bid-spending styles and non-limits that the 3 organizations put themselves through. That was all.

Jeez. You just want to have the ultimate say, just because you work in the industry. More often than not, most of the threads here become collaborative efforts, with various posters contributing to the overall topic rather than always being subjected to a condescending stance some of your posts seem to ooze of. Think about that for a moment.

Well regardless of whether it was a joke or not, is it really necessary to make plane crash references involving NBC executives? You don't know how everyone got to Lausanne (not that I do either). Maybe some or all of them flew commercial. Just seems like an odd way to look at the networks' respective trips to Lausanne, but to each his own.

Second, I'm not trying to get the last word, I'm trying to further the discussion. You know how many times someone has made a serious post and you've responded with some sort of pointless joke that's almost stopped a thread dead in its tracks? That's why I reference your post count sometimes. And between the 2 of us, I'm not the only one who has made some condescending comments here. I'm more than happy to discuss the topic at hand and it has much more to do with the fact that I like talking about the Olympics than the fact I work in television. I'd love for as many people as possible to be in on these discussions, especially when at the end of the day, all we're doing for the most part is stating opinions. You want to focus on how much NBComcast spent on the bid, I'm happy to discuss. I'm just offering my opinion, half of which is in total agreement with you. I'm not trying to get the last word in here. You offered an opinion, so I offered my opinion, and I hope the next person jumps in with their opinion and we all go from there. At the end of the day, all we are is a bunch of Joe Schmo's in an Internet forum who happen to have a common interest.

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Honestly I cannot believe London 2012 will be as big of a lose as NBC is saying it will be, nor do I believe that Vancouver lost as much as NBC said it did. According to Warner Brother's, they have lost ten's of millions on the Potter films, a film serious that has made almost 7 billion dollars. Creative accounting to avoid taxation. Numbers can lie and they can be manipulated.

The United Kingdom is a very popular country amongst Americans, the ratings will be there. Beijing got strong ratings despite being 12 hours ahead, London can manage as much with a 5 hour headstart.

Sochi is interesting, and that really comes down to how well NBC sells Russia. For most Americans Sochi 2014 will be there first major exposure to Russian culture and society, just as Beijing was for China. NBC needs to capitalize on this and they lowered the price to allow them to do this.

Rio will be successful, its in a near ideal timezone and Brazil has the cache amongst Americans that will make it appealing.

2018 is a write-off.

2020 is the interesting one, 1.48 billion with the potential of the games going to Japan? NBC is going to have their filthy little hands all over that race now.

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The United Kingdom is a very popular country amongst Americans, the ratings will be there. Beijing got strong ratings despite being 12 hours ahead, London can manage as much with a 5 hour headstart.

Sochi is interesting, and that really comes down to how well NBC sells Russia. For most Americans Sochi 2014 will be there first major exposure to Russian culture and society, just as Beijing was for China. NBC needs to capitalize on this and they lowered the price to allow them to do this.

Beijing had the advantage of a spectacular opening ceremony, 8 nights of live swimming finals, plus live gymnastics and beach volleyball. London will have no live coverage in primetime. If you look at the Beijing ratings, viewership dropped off sharply in the second week once the live swimming coverage ended. Americans don't care much about track & field anymore, and not even Usain Bolt is going to change that. With no live primetime coverage and no quest for history by Michael Phelps, I don't think London will approach the 16.8 primetime average of Beijing. I'll be surprised if NBC even tops the Athens numbers, which were in the 15s.

I expect Sochi to be a ratings disaster no matter how well NBC tries to sell it. Americans are losing interest in the Winter Olympics, period. Torino was the least-watched Olympics ever on U.S. television, and even Vancouver, with a significant amount of live coverage every night, barely averaged in the 14s. That was a huge drop from the last live Olympics in Salt Lake, and it was even about 2 points down from Nagano, when most of the events aired in primetime 15-20 hours after they took place. Unless there is a major story or athlete that piques American interest, I expect the Sochi ratings be about the same as the Torino ratings, if not lower.

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I expect Sochi to be a ratings disaster no matter how well NBC tries to sell it. Americans are losing interest in the Winter Olympics, period. Torino was the least-watched Olympics ever on U.S. television, and even Vancouver, with a significant amount of live coverage every night, barely averaged in the 14s. That was a huge drop from the last live Olympics in Salt Lake, and it was even about 2 points down from Nagano, when most of the events aired in primetime 15-20 hours after they took place. Unless there is a major story or athlete that piques American interest, I expect the Sochi ratings be about the same as the Torino ratings, if not lower.

American WOG viewership hopes hinge on an American ladies singles skater. That is how NBC has marketed the WOGs (even tho it was CBS' turn to carry the Nancy Kerrigan-Tonya Harding Olympics at Lillehammer). Then there was Tara Lipinski, then the never-quite made-it but exquisite Michelle Kwan and Sacha Cohen nipping at her heels. Leading into Sochi, it is 2 pairs of the U.S. dance teams (Davis-White and the Shibutanis) who are sure medal contenders because the best ladies' hope (the very elegant and feminine Alissa Czisny is very inconsistent; and the Japanese/Korean gals are technically superior). So, if Czisny (or Rachel Flatt) can improve and be consistent the next 2 years (just 2012 and 2013), then NBC might have a chance at getting better numbers for Sochi.

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Beijing had the advantage of a spectacular opening ceremony, 8 nights of live swimming finals, plus live gymnastics and beach volleyball. London will have no live coverage in primetime. If you look at the Beijing ratings, viewership dropped off sharply in the second week once the live swimming coverage ended. Americans don't care much about track & field anymore, and not even Usain Bolt is going to change that. With no live primetime coverage and no quest for history by Michael Phelps, I don't think London will approach the 16.8 primetime average of Beijing. I'll be surprised if NBC even tops the Athens numbers, which were in the 15s.

I expect Sochi to be a ratings disaster no matter how well NBC tries to sell it. Americans are losing interest in the Winter Olympics, period. Torino was the least-watched Olympics ever on U.S. television, and even Vancouver, with a significant amount of live coverage every night, barely averaged in the 14s. That was a huge drop from the last live Olympics in Salt Lake, and it was even about 2 points down from Nagano, when most of the events aired in primetime 15-20 hours after they took place. Unless there is a major story or athlete that piques American interest, I expect the Sochi ratings be about the same as the Torino ratings, if not lower.

Plus, Most Americans who are sports fans don't watch Olympic basketball because we see those basketball players everyday in the NBA. Same for Olympic hockey.

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American WOG viewership hopes hinge on an American ladies singles skater. That is how NBC has marketed the WOGs (even tho it was CBS' turn to carry the Nancy Kerrigan-Tonya Harding Olympics at Lillehammer). Then there was Tara Lipinski, then the never-quite made-it but exquisite Michelle Kwan and Sacha Cohen nipping at her heels. Leading into Sochi, it is 2 pairs of the U.S. dance teams (Davis-White and the Shibutanis) who are sure medal contenders because the best ladies' hope (the very elegant and feminine Alissa Czisny is very inconsistent; and the Japanese/Korean gals are technically superior). So, if Czisny (or Rachel Flatt) can improve and be consistent the next 2 years (just 2012 and 2013), then NBC might have a chance at getting better numbers for Sochi.

I'm not sure that even a gold medal contender in ladies' figure skating will help the Sochi ratings all that much. Interest in figure skating has declined significantly over the last decade. Czisny has not yet committed to staying in the sport through 2014, and Flatt is unlikely to do so as well (she's going to Stanford in the fall and is dealing with numerous injuries). The top ladies in Sochi are likely to be 2 or 3 Russians who are currently juniors and won't be eligible for senior competition until 2012-13 or 2013-14. These juniors regularly outscored the top seniors this season. I can't see American viewers getting excited about watching the Russians dominate the ladies event.

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Plus, Most Americans who are sports fans don't watch Olympic basketball because we see those basketball players everyday in the NBA. Same for Olympic hockey.

Most Americans are more likely to watch hockey during the Olympics than during the NHL season. The Olympic final had 30 million viewers in the U.S.; the average Stanley Cup final game is watched by about 6 million people. Hockey is not a good draw for the primetime broadcast, though, as it turns away female viewers.

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I'm not sure that even a gold medal contender in ladies' figure skating will help the Sochi ratings all that much. Interest in figure skating has declined significantly over the last decade. Czisny has not yet committed to staying in the sport through 2014, and Flatt is unlikely to do so as well (she's going to Stanford in the fall and is dealing with numerous injuries). The top ladies in Sochi are likely to be 2 or 3 Russians who are currently juniors and won't be eligible for senior competition until 2012-13 or 2013-14. These juniors regularly outscored the top seniors this season. I can't see American viewers getting excited about watching the Russians dominate the ladies event.

That's what I said. Interest always peaks in an Olympic year -- but only if there is a strong American woman or 2.

The best spin NBC can do is to jazz up the US - Canadian rivalries in Ice Dance. And I don't know if Americans will also continue to dominate in the Aerials, Moguls and the Half-pike events. That might be NBC's best building blox.

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Also, most Americans won't care for Olympic tennis or Olympic golf. it's like Olympic basketball: we see these athletes a lot and we are familiar with a lot of them so there is no point in seeing them in the Olympics.

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Also, most Americans won't care for Olympic tennis or Olympic golf. it's like Olympic basketball: we see these athletes a lot and we are familiar with a lot of them so there is no point in seeing them in the Olympics.

I agree. Who cares for those golfers, tennis players and basketball players? I don't watch those sports. Same old; same old.

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Also, most Americans won't care for Olympic tennis or Olympic golf. it's like Olympic basketball: we see these athletes a lot and we are familiar with a lot of them so there is no point in seeing them in the Olympics.

The problem with the Olympic golf tournament is what will be the drawing card? Are the top guys in the world going to have the incentive to come to Brazil around the time of the PGA Championship. And I'm pretty sure I heard it will be a stroke play format, which strikes me as a bad choice since the Olympics seems to be perfect for a match play format. Basketball is different though. Almost any basketball player (especially in the US, obviously it's different with foreign-born players) probably wants an NBA title more than they want an Olympic gold medal. But the redeem team was a pretty big story in Beijing, so they'll get some attention in London. Certainly not primetime material, but you can bet they'll get plenty of attention on weekend afternoons on NBC just like they did from Athens.

That's what I said. Interest always peaks in an Olympic year -- but only if there is a strong American woman or 2.

The best spin NBC can do is to jazz up the US - Canadian rivalries in Ice Dance. And I don't know if Americans will also continue to dominate in the Aerials, Moguls and the Half-pike events. That might be NBC's best building blox.

What NBC really needs is for the economy to rebound because if it doesn't, they're in big trouble for both London and Sochi. Absolutely agree they need some more punch from figure skating and (not that I follow that much) I don't think they're going to get it. And the other problem is that a lot of their mainstays over the past few years (think Apolo Ohno, Bode Miller, Lindsay Vonn, etc.) are starting to get older and might not be the medal contenders they once were. Shaun White is great for NBC since people actually see him outside the Olympics (even Phelps you get the sense a lot of people know nothing of what he does aside from the Olympics), but he only competes once. Either way, NBC better hope that team USA is successful in Sochi because if they're not, it's going to be a long 2 1/2 weeks for them.

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What NBC really needs is for the economy to rebound because if it doesn't, they're in big trouble for both London and Sochi. Absolutely agree they need some more punch from figure skating and (not that I follow that much) I don't think they're going to get it. And the other problem is that a lot of their mainstays over the past few years (think Apolo Ohno, Bode Miller, Lindsay Vonn, etc.) are starting to get older and might not be the medal contenders they once were. Shaun White is great for NBC since people actually see him outside the Olympics (even Phelps you get the sense a lot of people know nothing of what he does aside from the Olympics), but he only competes once. Either way, NBC better hope that team USA is successful in Sochi because if they're not, it's going to be a long 2 1/2 weeks for them.

Yes, and as we saw in 2006, once people knew the results and found out that the American stars (like Bode Miller) hadn't done well, they didn't bother to watch the primetime broadcast. That was an Olympics in which the tape delay totally worked against NBC. The same thing happened in 2000 when the American gymnasts didn't win any medals--a lot of people saw the results and decided not to watch the coverage.

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With NBC retaining the rights until the 2020 Olympic Games, fingers cross, Channel 7 could get back the rights for the following games: I am dreading about the coverage down under next year on Channel 9 with Eddie Everywhere. :angry:

Summer:

Rio 2016

2020

Winter:

Sochi 2014

2018

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  • 2 weeks later...

PC not good for NBC. Not a single mention of it tonight on their NBC Nightly News. PyeongChang = $200 million loss for NBC.

So,

Vancouver = $223 million loss

London = estimated $200 million loss

(Plunks down $4.38 billion for next 4 Games)

Sochi = I dunno, another $180 million loss?

Rio = $150 million profit

PC = loss of another $200 million (my guess)

I mean, how does this dumbf*ck network stay alive?? :blink:

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PC not good for NBC. Not a single mention of it tonight on their NBC Nightly News. .

I know. I was hoping that they'd have at least the annoucement, since I wasn't able to watch it live. Wtf, it's suppose to be America's "Olympic network"! :angry:

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PC not good for NBC. Not a single mention of it tonight on their NBC Nightly News.

This is totally not true. It was, in fact, mentioned on the NBC Nightly News, at approximately 6:44 pm EDT. I turned on my TV specifically to see if NBC would mention it, and they did. Baron just missed it, that's all. You can view the full broadcast for NBC Nightly News on MSNBC, if you don't believe me. However, they did not show any footage of the announcement.

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PC not good for NBC. Not a single mention of it tonight on their NBC Nightly News. PyeongChang = $200 million loss for NBC.

baron, can I get some guesses on future lottery numbers if you're already projecting a $200 million loss for NBC on an event not taking place for 7 years? :D When you're a last place network and no one watches anything else on your network (and when you just partnered with a cable outlet that could use the attention), that outlay of Olympic money is almost a necessary evil. Of course, out-bidding the competition by nearly a billion dollars.. well yes, that's just plain moronic.

As for 2018 though, how is PC any worse than Munich or Annecy. NBC will have a chance for plenty of coverage in primetime and if they can manipulate the schedle like they did the last time the Olympics are in Korea, even better for them. I have to think NBC is thrilled not to see consecutive Euro Olympics.

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baron, can I get some guesses on future lottery numbers if you're already projecting a $200 million loss for NBC on an event not taking place for 7 years?

Old habits (NBC's, not mine) die hard.

No, actually, I have Nostradamus' secret, unpublished predictions and in the 2018 quatrain, it says that "network with peacock is net worth minus wet feathers hundred and two in Chosun." ;)

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Old habits (NBC's, not mine) die hard.

That they do, I just think it's a little premature to assume they're going to lose millions of dollars again. The economy could rebound. Online advertising/marketing/sales could drive new sources of revenue. And who knows, maybe some figure skater's shady boyfriend will try to take a competitor out again! Either way, my original point stands that PC is a win for NBC compared to either Munich or Annecy. In the grand scheme of things, NBComcast should be very happy with today's result.

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That they do, I just think it's a little premature to assume they're going to lose millions of dollars again. The economy could rebound. Online advertising/marketing/sales could drive new sources of revenue. And who knows, maybe some figure skater's shady boyfriend will try to take a competitor out again! Either way, my original point stands that PC is a win for NBC compared to either Munich or Annecy. In the grand scheme of things, NBComcast should be very happy with today's result.

I hope you're right.

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