NBC为什么敢天价签下超长奥运会转播合同

    对于美国观众来说，这项转播权展期合同是一则好消息，因为它可能会增加2020年至2032年之间某届奥运会在美国举办的可能性。（2020年东京夏季奥运会之后的奥运会主办国目前还没有确定。）传媒产业时事通讯(Media Industry Newsletter)编辑史蒂芬•科恩表示，谁也无法保证国际奥委会(International Olympic Committee)一定会帮NBC一把，但这家电视网很可能依然在指望这样的帮助。“但愿国际奥委会将帮助他们摆脱困境，”科恩说。“我认为在未来15年里，美国十有八九会主办一届冬奥会或夏奥会，但也不一定。如果美国真的能够获得主办权，那将给予NBC巨大的帮助。”

    科恩指出，即将在巴西里约热内卢开幕的2014年世界杯足球赛其实有可能成为确定未来奥运会主办国的一个影响因素和指标。“里约是一个举办世界杯的好地方，因为它更接近东部时区，”科恩说。“但韩国（2018年冬奥会主办国）就不那么好了。”

    现在只剩下一个问题：NBC开出的未来奥运会独家报道权价格是不是太高了？现在看似乎是这样，但我们无法肯定。没有人知道8年后我们将采用什么方式观看体育赛事直播，更遑论18年之后。不过几乎可以肯定的是，即使我们未来不会通过传统的电视屏幕收看比赛，NBC也会使出浑身解数，让奥运赛事进入每一个播出平台，无论这是否意味着要创造新的、更好的移动应用，还是要迎合某种全新的设备。NBC赌的是，奥运会转播权的价格将持续上涨，现在达成交易比未来再谈更划算。这是不是一个能够赢得金牌的商业决策？我们拭目以待。（财富中文网）

    译者：叶寒

    NBC's extension is great news for U.S. viewers because it may increase the likelihood that one of the Games between 2020 and 2032 will be in the United States. (There is currently no location set for the Games after the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo.) Steven Cohn, the editor of Media Industry Newsletter, says that there's no guarantee the International Olympic Committee will do NBC any favors, but the network is still likely counting on it. "Hopefully the IOC will help them out," Cohn says. "I think it's a pretty safe bet that one of those Games are going to be here in the U.S., either Winter or Summer in the next 15 years. But maybe not. It would be a huge help to NBC."

    Cohn points out that the 2014 FIFA World Cup, which will take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, could actually be an influence and indicator on future Olympic locations. "Rio is a good location for the World Cup because it's closer to the Eastern time zone," says Cohn. "But South Korea [where the 2018 Winter Games are] is not good."

    This leaves just one question: Did NBC overpay for its future Olympics coverage? It might look that way now, but there's no way to know for sure. No one knows how we'll watch live sporting events in eight years, much less in 18. But even if we won't be watching on a traditional TV screen, you can bet that NBC will do whatever it has to in order to provide access to the Games on every platform, whether that means creating new and better mobile apps or catering to some entirely new device. And NBC's bet is that the price of broadcast rights for the Olympic Games will continue to go up, and that it's getting a better deal now than in the future. A gold-medal business decision? We'll find out.