A New York Times report indicates that U.S. television networks including CBS, Fox, ABC, ESPN and Turner Sports will be meeting with the International Olympic Committee in New York on Monday and Tuesday next week. They will be setting a negotiation schedule for Olympic broadcast contracts beyond the 2008 Beijing Games.
NBC currently owns television-rights in the United States with a contract that includes Athens 2004, Turin 2006 and the Beijing Games as well as the Sydney 2000 and Salt Lake 2002 Games that already passed. NBC paid $3.6 billion for the broadcast package but its all back up for grabs in 2010 for the Winter Games.
If a contract is signed before 2005, a network will be inking a deal without knowing if the ultimate prize, a 2012 Summer Games in New York City, will be part of the package. Broadcast revenues makes up a large portion of the IOC’s total revenue.
