Dick Ebersol, a legend in the world of TV sports, is stepping down as NBC Universal’s Olympics czar after a blowout with his new corporate bosses over his contract.
While NBCU named Mark Lazarus, who is currently president of NBC Sports Group, as his replacement, the timing couldn’t be worse for the Peacock Network — coming just three weeks before it bids against other major networks for the rights to the games.
NBCU, now part of cable giant Comcast after a takeover in January, is left without its chief negotiator as it prepares to pitch the International Olympic Committee next month in Lausanne, Switzerland.
It faces a stiff challenge from Disney’s ESPN, which has vowed to aggressively pursue the games. News Corp.’s Fox is also planning to give chase for rights to the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, and 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. (News Corp. owns Fox and The Post.)
Just this week, Ebersol hammed it up at NBC’s annual “upfront” presentation to advertisers, tossing balls into the audience to get them excited about the network’s fall lineup.
“It comes as a complete surprise,” IOC board member Richard Carrion told the AP. “[Comcast] assured me they are 100 percent committed to the Olympics and the rights process.”
Sources said Ebersol butted heads with NBCU’s new chief, Steve Burke, over his compensation package. While Ebersol’s nine-year contract doesn’t expire until the end of 2012, sources hinted that he tried to wring more out of his boss — figuring he had leverage ahead of the crucial Olympic negotiations — and that Burke balked at his demands.
While pay may have played a role in the rift, industry observers said other factors likely came into play as well.
“There could have been all kinds of issues — personality differences, how much to bid, how much simultaneous coverage in primetime and in news,” sports specialist and economics professor Andrew Zimbalist told The Post. “I doubt the issue was that he wanted 3 percent to 5 percent more on the contract.”
Indeed, there are signs that Ebersol and Burke disagreed when it came to spreading sports programming across NBCU’s cable networks rather than concentrating it at the flagship NBC network.
While both sides downplayed any friction over the games, Comcast has repeatedly said it wants its bid to be financially sound.
Under former parent GE, NBC lost some $220 million on broadcasting the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. The IOC wants to wring more than $2.2 billion out of bidders.
Thanks to the 63-year-old Ebersol, aka “Mr. Olympics,” NBC has broadcast every Summer Games since 1988, and every Winter Games since 2002. After 22 years at the helm of NBC Sports, Ebersol is credited with shaping the way audiences view the games.
“He’s the last of the Roone Arledge producers that we’ll see,” said NBA chief David Stern, referring to the legendary sports producer who was Ebersol’s mentor. “In all things production, negotiation, administration, he’s an absolute giant in the field.” catkinson@nypost.com