CBC wins the domestic rights for 2014 and 2016 Olympic Games, saving Canadians from having to watch NBC

After much uncertainty and several failed bids, CBC has wrangled the TV, radio and Internet rights for the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, and the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro. That’s a relief, considering there was a chance Canadians would be stuck watching the (very unpopular) NBC broadcasts after the International Olympic Committee shut down a pair of joint bids between CBC and Bell Media, and Rogers Communications withdrew from the race in September 2011. The details of how much CBC paid have not yet been released, but the rights for the Vancouver and London games cost a Bell-CTV-Rogers consortium $153 million. Not chump change. [CBC]