LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND (AP) -- The IOC says NBC has retained its hold on U.S. Olympic television rights by defeating rival bids from ESPN and FOX and securing a four-games deal through 2020 worth nearly $4.4 billion.
NBC won the bid less than a month after the resignation of longtime sports and Olympics chief Dick Ebersol in a dispute with the new owners from Comcast. The victory extends NBC's reign as the Olympic network in the United States, a period stretching back 20 years.
The decision was announced officially by International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge at a news conference with Comcast chief executive Brian Roberts, new NBC sports chairman Mark Lazarus and other executives.
NBC now will have exclusive rights to the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, as well as the 2018 Winter Games and 2020 Olympics, whose sites have not yet been chosen.
IOC TV rights negotiator Richard Carrion said the deal is worth $4.38 billion overall.
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