NBC scored the ultimate gold medal when it secured broadcasting rights for the Summer Olympics in 1988. (The Winter Olympics followed in 2002.) Other networks can run, jump, swim, or ski as far as their legs can take them; at this point, NBC is never giving up that spot on the podium.

Comcast Corp.’s NBC division extended its TV rights to the Olympics until 2036 in a $3 billion deal, locking down the Games for the next decade.