Cable TV Deal Signed for Olympics

NBC and Cablevision Systems Corp. signed an agreement today that will allow Cablevision to show portions of the 1992 Barcelona Summer Games on a pay-per-view basis. It will be the first time the Olympics have been on cable TV in the United States.

Although financial details of the agreement were not disclosed, earlier reports said NBC planned to lay out as much as $75 million of its total Olympic bid of $401 million on cable TV.

NBC Sports President Arthur Watson said, “It’s in that arena.”

Under the agreement, NBC will also co-manage Cablevision’s SportsChannel America in an effort to make it a nationwide network showing sports primarily of regional interest. Watson said it was possible that NFL games could also be shown on the network.