Although he says he’s not lobbying for Toronto to win the 2008 Summer Olympics, NBC sports chairman Dick Ebersol said it would be an unexpected bonus.
NBC has a $3.5-billion U.S. deal with the International Olympic Committee giving it the American broadcast rights for the Games through to 2008.
Ebersol said, “I went into this (rights agreement) assuming there would be no Games in this time zone–’04, ’06 and ’08 — coming off an American Games in ’96 and an American Games in ’02. If there was (a Games in North America), perhaps some people can look at it as a bonus, but it is not one we thought would be available”.
But despite Ebersol’s denials that he’s not lobbying for Toronto, sources told the Toronto Star that the network is quietly lobbying for a return to North America.
One Olympic broadcasting source said, “sure they’re lobbying for Toronto. Who could blame them? But they also realize they have to be very careful about lobbying too hard. That could end up backfiring on them”.
Meanwhile Canadian IOC member and presidential candidate Dick Pound said NBC would have no impact when IOC members vote for the 2008 host city, because the rights deal is sold already.
But a report says that privately, people connected to Toronto’s bid say that if NBC is able to make more money by having a North American Games, it will increase the value of the next round of rights deals.
