One month after losing the TV rights to pro football to the Fox Network, CBS will announce Wednesday its victory over Fox in securing the rights to the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, for an estimated $375 million.
The $375 million is the most ever paid for the rights to the Winter Olympics, eclipsing the $309 million ABC paid in 1988 for Calgary Games. CBS paid $295 million for next month’s Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway.
“We surveyed the lay of the land and decided to do business with CBS,” said Richard Pound, the International Olympic Committee’s chief television negotiator. CBS is closely identified with the Winter Olympics. It broadcast the 1992 Games in Albertville, France, and its telecasts of the 16 days in Lillehammer will begin Feb. 12.
But CBS was essentially the sole bidder. NBC and ABC had dropped out, deeming the expected price tag too steep. And Fox was told by the IOC to cut its teeth on National Football Conference games before bidding on the Olympics.
