Comcast agrees $3bn deal with Int’l Olympic Committee extending its US coverage rights until 2036

Comcast said the 2024 Paris games broke consumption records (Photo: Sylvestre via <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:C%C3%A9r%C3%A9monie_de_cl%C3%B4ture_des_Jeux_olympiques_d%27%C3%A9t%C3%A9_de_2024_-_arriv%C3%A9e_des_athl%C3%A8tes.jpg">CC</a>)

Comcast has signed a US$3bn deal with the International Olympic Committee to extend its rights agreement to carry the Olympics Games until 2036 in the US.

The New York-based media company has an existing rights deal in place until 2032. As well as media rights, the new pact covers “new, innovative joint strategic initiatives and projects,” and includes the Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 2034 and the 2036 Summer Olympics, which does not yet have a host city.

The deal, which keeps the Olympics on broadcaster NBC and streamer Peacock for at least 11 more years in the US, comes after the 2024 Paris Olympics, which Comcast said “generated consumption records,” including 23.5 billion minutes of coverage across NBCUniversal-owned platforms.

According to Comcast, Peacock viewership was 40% more than all previous summer and winter games combined, while Gen Z (aged 13-28) made 6.55 billion impressions on NBCUniversal’s social platforms, up 184% from the Tokyo Olympics.

NBCUniversal has carried 19 Olympics in total since 1964, more than any other company.

“We live in a time when technology is driving faster and more fundamental transformation than we’ve seen in decades. This groundbreaking, new, long-term partnership between Comcast NBCUniversal and the International Olympic Committee not only recognises this dynamic but anticipates that it will accelerate,” said Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts.