NBC Secures Olympic Broadcasting Rights Through 2036
NBC has solidified its position as the champion of Olympic broadcasting in the United States with a new deal that extends through at least 2036. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on Thursday that it has signed a $3 billion renewed agreement with Comcast NBCUniversal for the 2034 Salt Lake City Olympics and the 2036 Summer Games.
This new agreement goes beyond just media rights, with the IOC elevating Comcast NBCUniversal to a strategic partner. The partnership will involve “innovative joint strategic initiatives and projects,” including collaborations with the streaming platform Peacock. Additionally, the IOC will benefit from Comcast’s investment in relevant and innovative start-ups.
The 2036 host country has yet to be decided, but there is interest from countries such as India, Qatar, Turkey, Hungary, and Indonesia. NBC’s most recent Olympic rights deal, signed in 2014, covers both the Summer and Winter Games through 2032 and is valued at $7.75 billion. This deal also includes the upcoming Summer Games in 2028 in Los Angeles.
NBC’s coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics was deemed successful, with roving correspondent Snoop Dogg proving to be a fan favorite. The broadcaster reached an average of 67 million viewers daily across all platforms during the Paris Games.
The original U.S. rights deal with NBC was made in 2011, securing each Olympic Games from 2014 to 2020 for $4.38 billion. This deal was a significant decision early in Thomas Bach’s IOC presidency, ensuring the financial stability of the Olympic body.
The new agreement with NBC comes just before the election of Bach’s successor at an IOC meeting in Greece on March 20. Bach expressed his excitement about the partnership, stating that it will allow fans in the United States to experience the Olympic Games like never before.
See also Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s tough Bronx persona is under fresh scrutiny with a resurfaced childhood nickname from her suburban upstate New York upbringing casting doubt on that publicly portrayed image. The progressive champion’s latest spat with President Donald Trump over the Iran strikes again called into question her true upbringing when she declared on X she was a “Bronx girl" to make her a point against the president. The 35-year-old congresswoman wrote in part on X: "I’m a Bronx girl. You should know that we can eat Queens boys for breakfast. Respectfully," she said, referring to the president’s upbringing in Queens as she called for his impeachment over his decision to bypass Congress in authorizing U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. Ocasio-Cortez was born in the Bronx but moved to Yorktown – which is nearly an hour outside New York City -- when she was 5 years old and went on to attend Yorktown High School where she graduated in 2007. She was considered an accomplished student there and well thought of by teacher Michael Blueglass, according to a 2018 report by local media outlet Halston Media News. “There, known by students and staff as ‘Sandy,’ she was a member of the Science Research Program taught by Michael Blueglass," the report states. “She was amazing," Blueglass said, per the report. “Aside from her winning one of the top spots and going to the [Intel International Science and Engineering Fair], she was just one of the most amazing presenters in all of the years I've been at Yorktown. Her ability to take complex information and explain it to all different levels of people was fantastic." After high school, Ocasio-Cortez attended Boston University, where she majored in economics and international relations, per the report. Ocasio-Cortez’s “Sandy" nickname — which carries a more suburban and preppy tone — appears to undercut her politically crafted image as a tough, inner-city fighter, one she has portrayed since her famous 2018 congressional campaign where she eventually ousted former 10-terms Congressman Joe Crowley. New York GOP Assemblyman Matt Slater, who now represents Yorktown, added to the scrutiny of Ocasio-Cortez’s persona in the wake of her brash with Trump and released images of Ocasio-Cortez from his high school yearbook. He claimed he and the rising Democratic star attended Yorktown High School at the same time when she was a freshman and he was a senior. "I saw the attacks on the president and her [Ocasio-Cortez] claims that she's a big, tough Bronx girl," said Slater. "To sit there and say that she’s a Bronx girl is just patently ridiculous." "Everybody in our community knows this is just a bold-face lie," said Slater on "Fox & Friends First" last week. "She grew up in Yorktown, she was on my track team." "She's lying about her background, she's lying about her upbringing," Slater claimed. Slater’s post sent social media ablaze and prompted Ocasio-Cortez to respond after an image if her family’s home was posted online. “I’m proud of how I grew up and talk about it all the time," Ocasio-Cortez wrote on X Friday responding to the post. “My mom cleaned houses and I helped. We cleaned tutors’ homes in exchange for SAT prep." “Growing up between the Bronx and Yorktown deeply shaped my views of inequality & it’s a big reason I believe the things I do today!"
NBC has a long history of broadcasting the Olympics, covering every Summer Games since 1988 and every Winter Games since 2002 in Salt Lake City. Comcast Chairman and CEO Brian Roberts expressed his company’s commitment to delivering innovative technological solutions that benefit athletes and organizers of the Olympic Games worldwide.
