Lausanne (AFP) - The International Olympic Committee on Thursday announced a $3 billion deal for NBC Universal to broadcast the Olympics until 2036 in the United States.

The IOC said the deal, which extends the current agreement with the US broadcaster by four years, was “a major contribution to the long-term financial stability of the entire Olympic Movement”.

The extension of the rights covers the Salt Lake City Winter Games in 2034 and the 2036 Summer Olympics, for which the host city is yet to be decided.

The new deal elevates Comcast NBC Universal to the status of a “strategic partner” of the IOC rather than just a media rights holder, the IOC said in a statement.

The Executive Board of the IOC has approved the agreement and has authorised the next IOC president, who will be elected on March 20, to sign the agreement after they take office in June 2025.

NBC’s previous Olympic rights deal was signed in 2014 and was valued at $7.75 billion. It covered the Summer and Winter Games until 2032.

The current IOC president Thomas Bach said the new deal with NBC “goes far beyond the traditional media rights agreement”.

“Thanks to their innovative approach, serving on all platforms from linear to streaming and digital, we can now take our partnership to new heights,” Bach added.

NBC’s coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics reached an average of 67 million viewers a day across its broadcast, cable and streaming platforms.

Viewers streamed 23.5 billion minutes of NBC’s coverage from Paris, led by its streaming service Peacock, representing a 40 percent rise on all prior Olympic Summer and Winter Games combined.