Director's Cut Blog with Frank Macek

Today Show in London The London Olympics are a huge boon to NBC's struggling "Today" show. The Nielsen ratings company says the NBC morning show eclipsed ABC's "Good Morning America" by more than 1.6 million viewers last week. "Today" broadcast from London all last week, taking advantage of NBC's status as holder of the rights to the very popular Olympics. "Good Morning America" had beaten "Today" in the ratings for five weeks prior to the London trip. NBC has sought to use the trip to get morning viewers used to its new co-anchor, Savannah Guthrie. Source: The Associated Press

Special to the Director's Cut Blog By Stephan Wilson, AP Sports Writer LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- NBC retained its hold on U.S. Olympic television rights Tuesday in a four-games deal through 2020 worth more than $4 billion, defeating rival bids from ESPN and Fox, officials with direct knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press. Two officials spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the decision has not yet been officially announced by the International Olympic Committee. NBC, now controlled by Comcast, won the bid less than a month after the resignation of longtime sports and Olympics chief Dick Ebersol in a dispute with the new owners. The victory extends NBC's reign as the Olympic network in the United States, a period stretching back 20 years. NBC has broadcast every Summer Olympics since 1988 and every Winter Games since 2002. NBC now will have exclusive rights to the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, ...