NBC, which is owned by General Electric Co., announced Friday it has paid $2.2 billion U.S. for broadcast rights to the two events. The package includes rights to broadcast, cable, Internet, video-on-demand, pay-per-view, hand-held electronics and other services.
The American network is also scheduled to broadcast upcoming Olympic Games in Athens (2004), Torino (2006) and Beijing (2008).
The deal extends NBC's Olympic run to an American record seven straight Games over 12 years.
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"The Olympics are not to us a sporting event, they're not about sports rights," said NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol.
"The Olympics are something really, really special. They are the only great family viewing experience left in all of American television."
The IOC selected NBC over competing bids from Disney's ABC/ESPN and New Corp's Fox. CBS and AOL Time Warner had already dropped out of the race.
NBC was considered the frontrunner due to its long partnership with the IOC.
"The best one won and the best one is -- probably not a coincidence -- the one with which we have worked for a very long time," said IOC president Jacques Rogge.
"They were obviously the best bid in terms of the audience, the platforms, the reach and the financial aspect."
Along with NBC, GE also owns cable stations CNBC, MSNBC, Bravo and Telemundo.
Rogge declined to say how much ABC and Fox bid.
The rights to 2010 and 2012 were issued before the host cities have even been announced. The 2010 host will be awarded July 2 in Prague. Vancouver is one of three cities vying for the 2010 Winter Games.
The 2012 host will be selected in 2005. The race for those Games already has several big-name entries, including New York City, London, Paris, Madrid, Moscow and Istanbul.
Toronto, who lost out on the 2008 Games, might toss its hat into the 2012 ring if Vancouver is not chosen as the 2010 host.
Bidding for the Canadian TV rights to the 2010 and 2012 Games is still several months away.
with files from the Associated Press
