NBC single-handedly pays for a fifth of all Olympic Games: It's no secret NBC is willing to shell out enormous sums to the International Olympic Committee so it can broadcast the Games to American viewers. In 2011, the network offered $4.38 billion to the IOC in hopes of winning an exclusive broadcast license through 2020.
NBC seems intent on securing those rights at almost any price, whether the network turns a profit on it or not. That view paints the network as the IOC's humble supplicant, competing against other networks for the organizing committee's coveted favor. But the reality is just the opposite: Without American networks' largesse, the IOC could hardly afford to run the Olympics at all.