Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 28, 1993 TAG: 9307280029
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: Medium
After day-long talks with all three networks, the IOC awarded exclusive U.S. television rights for the 1996 Atlanta Games to NBC, ending ABC's bid to get back in the Summer Olympics business for the first time since 1984.
Although the IOC had not yet made the announcement, NBC's selection was confirmed by sources at two of the three networks involved, and the winning bid reportedly was for a record $456 million.
NBC won the rights to the 1992 Barcelona Summer Games with a then-record bid of $401 million, and it paid $300 million for the rights to the Seoul Olympics of 1988.
NBC lost at least $100 million on the Barcelona telecasts, largely due to the TripleCast pay-per-view experiment, and also lost an undisclosed sum in Korea.
CBS was an early casualty in bidding, dropping out about 45 minutes after a second round of talks began at about 4 p.m. EDT
NBC, ABC and CBS, in that order, began offering bids for exclusive U.S. rights to the 1996 Games at about 10 a.m. EDT Tuesday. The first round lasted until about 2 p.m.
"I guess we all go in alone and they make merry with us," NBC Sports president Dick Ebersol said when the second round started.
Billy Payne, president of the Atlanta organizing group known as ACOG, initially set his sights on $600 million from U.S. TV for the Atlanta Games, the first in the United States since the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. At the same time, network sources indicated they would feel more comfortable in the range of $375 million to $400 million.
CBS had U.S. broadcast rights to the 1992 Albertville Winter Games and also will televise the '94 Games at Lillehammer.
by CNB