Cahill Represents NBC in $4.38 Billion Acquisition of Exclusive Broadcast Rights to Olympic Games Through 2020
Date: 06/08/11
Cahill represented NBCUniversal in its winning bid to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to acquire the U.S. broadcasting rights to the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and the 2018 Winter Games and 2020 Summer Games, whose sites have yet to be chosen. As announced in Lausanne, Switzerland today, NBC and the IOC have agreed upon a deal valued at $4.38 billion, which will give NBC the exclusive broadcasting rights across television, Internet and Mobile platforms for the Olympic Games through 2020. The four Games package NBC has secured will allow the network to continue its streak of having broadcast every Summer Games since 1988 and every Winter Games since 2002.
The bid was part of the first U.S. broadcasting rights auction since 2003, at which time NBC secured the U.S. broadcasting rights to the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, Canada and the upcoming 2012 Summer Games in London, England. The submission of the bid and the announcement that NBC had prevailed was the culmination of a process in which executives from NBC, ESPN and Fox made presentations to the IOC on the merits of each network's respective bids. Among NBC's delegation for the presentation to the IOC was Comcast CEO Brian Roberts, NBC CEO Steve Burke, NBC Sports Chairman Mark Lazarus, NBC Olympics President Gary Zenkel and Bob Costas, who has served as host of NBC's coverage of eight Olympics.
Cahill has represented NBC as a broadcast-rights holder to the Olympic Games since 1988, including the network's $2.2 billion bid in 2003.