DICK EBERSOL
Chairman, NBC Universal Sports & Olympics

Dick Ebersol was named chairman of NBC Universal Sports & Olympics in May 2005, after serving as chairman of NBC Sports & Olympics since June 1998. He is responsible for all sports programming on the NBC and USA networks, along with overseeing every aspect of NBC Universal’s involvement with the Olympic Games. Ebersol reports directly to Jeff Zucker, president and CEO of NBC Universal.

Ebersol has played a prominent role in the wide-ranging fields of sports, entertainment, and news. He is known for his rare combination of a producer’s creative vision with an executive’s savvy and business acumen. Among his most significant achievements is the establishment of NBC Universal as the home of the Olympic Games through 2012.

Beginning in 1967, when he temporarily dropped out of Yale University to join Roone Arledge and ABC Sports as television’s first-ever Olympic researcher, Ebersol has continually forged new paths. In recent months, Ebersol has been inducted into both the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame and the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame.

The next frontier in his storied career is the 2006 Olympic Winter Games from Torino, Italy, where he will serve as executive producer of NBC’s Olympic coverage as he has since the 1992 Barcelona Games.

Following the Torino Games, Ebersol will executive produce “Football Night in America,” an exclusive and complete look at each Sunday in the NFL. “Football Night in America” will encompass more than four hours of NFL coverage, including a primetime pre-game show hosted by Bob Costas, the most honored sportscaster of his generation, and the premier primetime game of the week “NBC’s Sunday Night NFL Football.” Ebersol negotiated the unprecedented six-year NFL deal, which includes innovative flexible scheduling, and continues through the 2011 season with Super Bowls in 2009 and 2012.

The sheer magnitude of NBC Universal’s coverage from the 2004 Athens Olympic Games was historic. The network won nine Emmys for its Athens Olympic coverage. Ebersol earned praise as the architect of a critically acclaimed and financially successful model that once again changed the way the Olympics are televised. NBC Universal presented unprecedented 24-hour, around-the-clock coverage across seven platforms: NBC, USA, MSNBC, CNBC, Bravo, Telemundo and NBC’s HDTV affiliates. For the first time all 28 Summer Olympic sports were covered and Telemundo’s Spanish-language broadcast offered the first exclusively non-English language Olympic broadcast in U.S. television history. The 1,210 total hours of coverage from Athens is more than the last five Summer Olympics combined. In total, NBC Universal’s Athens coverage attracted 203 million unique viewers, making it the most watched non-U.S. Summer Olympics in television history.

The Athens Games followed NBC’s critically acclaimed coverage of the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Games, which were also a financial success and a runaway ratings hit that were watched by 187 million viewers. NBC’s coverage was honored with 11 Sports Emmy Awards – a record for any Olympics – along with six more primetime Emmys for coverage of the Opening Ceremony.

In December 2003, Ebersol agreed to a nine-year contract to continue running NBC Sports & Olympics through 2012. “Dick Ebersol is clearly one of the most talented executives and producers in this business,” said GE Vice Chairman and NBC Chairman and CEO Bob Wright.

“His guidance over the years has been invaluable to me personally and to every division of the company, and we look forward to continuing to benefit from his experience and leadership. In particular, no one has done more than Dick to build the Olympics into the most valuable franchise in television.”

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In 1974, after six years at ABC Sports – including stints as Arledge's executive assistant and as a producer on Wide World of Sports and at the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics – Ebersol joined NBC as Director of Weekend Late Night Programming. In 1975, Ebersol hired independent producer Lorne Michaels and together they conceived and developed Saturday Night Live, the groundbreaking comedy showcase that revolutionized the genre. Named Vice President, Late Night Programming at age 28, Ebersol became NBC's first ever vice president under the age of 30.

In 1977, Ebersol was named NBC’s Vice President of Comedy, Variety & Event Programming.
He returned to "SNL" in 1981 as executive producer and remained there until 1985, spanning the Eddie Murphy and Billy Crystal eras. In 1983, Ebersol formed No Sleep Productions, a highly successful independent production company, and created NBC's Friday Night Videos, the Emmy Award-winning Later with Bob Costas, and together with Vince McMahon, Saturday Night’s Main Event. When Ebersol left SNL in 1985, he devoted his energies to his production company.

Ebersol returned to NBC on May 1, 1989, as president of NBC Sports to undertake the challenge of rebuilding the division. Ebersol began NBC Sports' turnaround when he spearheaded the network's 1989 acquisition of the broadcast rights for the National Basketball Association. He oversaw the details of the deal that was universally regarded at the time as the model relationship for both league and broadcaster. Under Ebersol’s leadership, the 12-year run of the NBA on NBC was marked by record ratings, primetime telecasts and innovations which extended the relationship between the NBA and NBC beyond game telecasts and into areas which included entertainment programming, licensing, revenue sharing, interactive media and grass roots basketball development. From 1989-91 Ebersol also held the title of Senior Vice President, NBC News.

From April 1993 through January 1994, Ebersol orchestrated an unprecedented run of NBC Sports acquisitions, including: renewing agreements with the NFL, NBA and Notre Dame football; acquiring the rights to the 1994, ’96 and ‘98 Super Bowls and the 1996 Atlanta Olympics; and bringing Major League Baseball back to NBC through the formation of the joint-venture Baseball Network. In June 1994, Ebersol drove the network acquisition of the USGA championships, which are highlighted by the U.S. Open, one of golf’s four major championships. In 1995-96, for the only time in history, the World Series, Super Bowl, NBA Finals and Summer Olympics were telecast by the same network. Likewise, by January 1998, NBC had been the home of four Super Bowls in six years, another unprecedented stretch.

In August 1995, Ebersol was the architect of another NBC Olympic deal, acquiring the rights for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. It marked the first time that rights for consecutive Olympics were awarded at the same time.

Just four months later in December 1995, Ebersol was the driving force behind NBC Sports' bold and historic acquisition of the exclusive broadcast and cable rights for the 2004 Summer Olympics, the 2006 Winter Olympics, and the 2008 Summer Games.

Ebersol’s passion for sports took a backseat to his stewardship of the resources of NBC and its parent company, General Electric, when in January 1998 NBC Sports walked away from the NFL. Firmly committed to fiscal responsibility, NBC Sports would make similar decisions to back away from the bargaining table with Major League Baseball in September 2000 and to drop the NBA in December 2001.

In June 1998, Ebersol was appointed Chairman, NBC Sports & Olympics. In addition to running NBC Sports, Ebersol oversees every aspect of NBC’s involvement with the Olympic Games, which in June 2003 was extended to include the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games and the 2012 Summer Olympics.

In 1999, Ebersol added the prestigious Visa Triple Crown and NASCAR to the NBC Sports programming lineup, with long-term agreements that started in 2001. In recent years, NBC’s agreements with the USGA, PGA Tour, Ryder Cup, French Open and Wimbledon have all been renewed.

In May of 2004, NBC Universal was formed through the merger of NBC and Vivendi Universal Entertainment and Ebersol has overseen the seamless merger of NBC Universal’s sports properties through the combined assets of USA Network and NBC Sports. NBC Universal’s NBC and USA combine to offer a prestigious sports calendar including two of the four major championships in golf (Masters® on USA and U.S. Open on NBC), and three of tennis’ four Grand Slam events (French Open and Wimbledon on NBC and the U.S. Open on USA).

Ebersol has regularly been among the top 10 honorees on The Sporting News' annual list of the 100 most powerful sports figures, including 1996 when he was named the publication’s Most Powerful Person in Sports. In 1992, Ebersol was awarded the Olympic Order, an honor periodically bestowed by the International Olympic Committee to recognize remarkable contributions to the Olympic Movement. In 2000, the March of Dimes honored Ebersol with its Corporate Leadership Award. At the 2003 Michael S. Modell Awards Dinner, Ebersol was presented with the prestigious Dick Schaap Lifetime Achievement Award in Sports.

February 2007