ESPN LIKELY TO BID MORE THAN $1 BILLION FOR UPCOMING OLYMPICS
Wednesday, August 20 2008
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ESPN chief George Bodenheimer and ESPN content head John Skipper indicated Tuesday that the cable network and ABC will likely be bidding for the rights to air the 2014 Winter Games and the 2016 Summer Games. Speaking at a media event to promote the upcoming start of ESPN's Monday Night Football franchise, the two suggested that the winning bidder would likely have to pay more than $1 billion. The rights for the current games cost NBC $894 million, and while it was reported that it would gross more than $1 billion from ads sold during the telecasts, several experts have suggested that it is costing the network and its cable and online affiliates more than $100 in production and marketing costs. While Bodenheimer gave high marks to NBC's coverage, his colleague Skipper was critical of the network's decision to tape-delay the telecasts on the West Coast that are broadcast live in the East. "We would never put an event on tape delay. When we put 'live' on the screen, we mean 'live right now.' We don't mean live three hours ago," Skipper remarked.
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