Report: TV Bid Exposes ‘Friction’ Between NBC And Longtime Olympics Boss, Dick Ebersol

One of the most enduring relationships in American television may be strained, according to a report in the New York Post. Dick Ebersol, the NBC legend who’s headed coverage of the Olympics since 2000 and every summer games since 1988 is in the process of negotiating coverage of the 2014 and 2016 games, creating “friction” between Ebersol and his new bosses from Comcast over costs. “This is a big test of what Dick’s role is,” said one source, talking about how free a rein new NBC Universal CEO Steve Burke will give to Ebersol,” reports the Post‘s Claire Atkinson.

The Post reports the current NBC bid for the games includes 17 days of coverage–and the possibility of losing money:

NBC Universal outbid competitors for the TV rights last time around, but Jeff Immelt, the CEO of General Electric, then the majority owner of the network, later admitted the Games had been a money loser. That’s something Comcast, NBC’s new cost-conscious owners, are keen to avoid.

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