Gary Zenkel

NBC’s $4 billion deal to snag the rights
for four more Olympics starting in 2014
means that even as new ownership has
come in, the Olympics will be a mainstay
for the company. Now, for the first
time since Comcast and Dick Ebersol
formally broke up (he is still on board
for this summer’s Games), it is up
to Gary Zenkel to continue that legacy.

The talk in the business will continue to be about break-even—
NBC lost $223 million last time around—but the Olympics has always
been great television, and it dominates TV for weeks on end. It is up
to Zenkel and the team to keep the five-ring circus a leading force
this year in London and beyond. Oh—and some of the events will be
carried in 3D this year. Yeah, we don’t really care, either.