Olympic Games: Atlanta nets pounds 285m

THE American television network, NBC, has won the US broadcasting rights to the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta with a bid of dollars 456m (pounds 285m), according to an International Olympic Commitee report from New York on Tuesday.

NBC paid dollars 401m to broadcast last summer's Games from Barcelona, on which they are estimated to have lost dollars 100m. Some industry analysts had questioned whether the Olympic negotiators would get the minimum dollars 450m they were apparently seeking for 1996.

US networks have lost substantial sums of money on some of their contracts to broadcast sports events in recent years. American television ratings have declined for each of the last three Olympics.

----------------------------------------------------------------- Table: US TV RIGHTS ----------------------------------------------------------------- Year City Network Fee 1960 Rome CBS dollars .394m 1964 Tokyo NBC dollars 1.5m 1968 Mexico ABC dollars 4.5m 1972 Munich ABC dollars 13.5m 1976 Montreal ABC dollars 25m 1980 Moscow NBC dollars 87m 1984 Los Angeles ABC dollars 225m 1988 Seoul NBC dollars 300m 1992 Barcelona NBC dollars 401m 1996 Atlanta NBC dollars 456m -----------------------------------------------------------------