The Evolution of Olympic Coverage On February 18th, 1960, the 8th Olympic Winter Games opened in Squaw Valley, California, the first Olympics to be held in North America since 1932. In addition to some 1,000 athletes and several thousands spectators, the opening ceremonies were watched by several CBS television cameras, marking the beginning of television coverage of the Olympic Games on American Television. The anchorman for these first televised Olympics was Walter Cronkite, and several CBS sports reporters …showed first 75 words of 2283 total…

…showed last 75 words of 2283 total…of the time was taken up with commercials, some "Up Close And Personal" features, and coverage of figure-skating practice. NBC currently holds exclusive U.S. television rights to both the winter and summer Olympic games from 2000 through 2008. The network paid 3.5 billion dollars to hold that privilege, $700,000 for each Olympics. A staggering figure from the $50,000 that CBS paid in 1960, but a figure that shows just how far reaching and profitable the media of television has become.