It is unclear what a year-long postponement means for NBCU's broad Olympic coverage plansEMMA COBURN
NBCUniversal has been “operating in recent days as if Tokyo 2020 would be postponed, likely until July 2021,” according to sources cited by Bachman, Rizzo & Radnofsky of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. A source added that NBCUniversal’s contract with the IOC “would also prevent it from broadcasting the Olympic Games in the fall, when the NFL’s regular season starts” (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 3/24). In Philadelphia, Michelle Caffrey reported it is unclear what a year-long postponement would mean for NBCUniversal's “wide-reaching Olympic coverage plans and the record-breaking" $1.25B in advertising it "sold alongside it.” Comcast Chair & CEO Brian Roberts earlier this month indicated that the company has "built potential disruptions into its contracts and has insurance for any of its expenses.” Caffrey noted Comcast had been planning to use its Olympic coverage to "draw attention to Peacock, its direct-to-consumer streaming service that's slated to launch nationwide in July, just ahead" of when the Games were supposed to begin (BIZJOURNALS.com, 3/23).
