Dick Ebersol Resigns From NBC Sports; Mark Lazarus To Replace Him

Dick Ebersol resigned Thursday from his post atop NBC Sports Group, just one month to the day that he and the NHL announced a 10-year, $2 billion television contract that will keep hockey on NBC and VERSUS until 2021.

It was the biggest television deal in the history of the NHL, and if you want one reason why it became a reality, you have to look no further than Ebersol, the man who’s run NBC Sports since 1989 (until Thursday). Ebersol facilitated that deal thanks to a close relationship with Gary Bettman, and he offered more to hockey than any of the other suitors could, including ESPN.

Dick Ebersol’s announcement that he is leaving NBC Sports shocked the world of sports television on Thursday, but the impact will likely be strongest felt in the Olympics.

Ebersol, who has run NBC Sports since 1989 but said he could not come to agreement on a new contract, was instrumental in the network’s bids that landed NBC every Summer Games since 1988, and the past three Winter Games -- more Olympic broadcasting rights than any other network. But now with Ebersol leaving -- he’ll reportedly be replaced by Mark Lazarus -- the future television home of the Olympics is unknown.

Dick Ebersol has resigned from NBC Sports after failing to reach an agreement on a new contract, the network has confirmed. Ebersol is among the most important folks in sports and his impact on the NFL is a rather large one, especially since re-entering the NFL market in 2006.

In 1998, NBC lost their NFL rights to CBS and went eight years without the NFL before returning in 2006 with Sunday Night Football. However, it wasn’t just Sunday Night Football that Eberson and Co. acquired. They also had a unique approach with the NFL’s flex scheduling.

Dick Ebersol has resigned as the president of NBC Sports, reports Richard Sandomir of the New York Times. Ebersol has been NBC Sports’ top boss since 1989. One of his first major moves as president was to acquire the rights to NBA broadcasts in 1989. NBC carried the NBA from 1990 through 2002.

But after Jordan’s retirement, NBC lost faith in the league; the network claimed to have lost hundreds of millions of dollars in the post-MJ years, and let ABC, ESPN and TNT outbid it for NBA rights. The ABC family took over for the 2002-03 season, and retains those rights today.

NBC Sports Group President Dick Ebersol has resigned from his position, according to Richard Sandomir of the New York Times. He’ll be replaced by Mark Lazarus, who was recently named the head of the cable side of the NBC Sports Group, overseeing the VERSUS network, Golf Channel and local Comcast SportsNet channels. He reported directly to Ebersol in that role.

The Times report says that Ebersol couldn’t come to an agreement with the company on a new contract, which raises the possibility that he didn’t quite get along with his new bosses after Comcast purchased a majority stake in NBC Universal.