AMC clinches deal with NBC to show live Olympics coverage in theaters

By James Rogers

AMC will show live daytime coverage of the Paris Olympics at 160 theaters in the U.S.

AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. has clinched a deal with Comcast Corp.'s NBC to show live daytime coverage of the Paris Olympics at 160 of the company's U.S. theaters.

"Exciting programming news, given our long desire to increase having live sports on our big screens," AMC (AMC) CEO Adam Aron wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Wednesday. "AMC has reached agreement with NBC to show some of their live daytime coverage of the 33rd Summer Olympics. Paris. July 27 to August 11. At 160 AMC U.S. theatres. The Olympics!"

Shares of the movie-theater chain and original meme stock fell 1.2% Thursday. The stock is down 35.8% in the last three months, compared with the S&P 500 index's SPX gain of 9.1%.

Related: AMC delivers revenue beat helped by Taylor Swift and Beyoncé, yet stock drops

The coverage will be presented as live ticketed events, according to NBC, and will begin the day after the opening ceremony. "The afternoon broadcasts on NBC will offer many of the most compelling live moments from Paris, and we believe these gatherings will fuel overall enthusiasm for the Games," Gary Zenkel, the president of NBC Olympics, said in a statement.

NBCUniversal (CMCSA) has previously announced that the NBC broadcast network and the streaming service Peacock will be the company's primary platforms for the Paris Olympics, which kick off on July 26.

AMC's fourth-quarter results last month were boosted by the performance of concert films from Taylor Swift and Beyoncé. Speaking during a conference call to discuss the results, Aron cited sports as an opportunity for the company. "There's other alternate content that we could focus on other than just concert movies," he said. "We could look to comedy. We could look to sports."

Related: AMC teams with Zoom to turn movie theaters into 'Zoom Rooms'

In an announcement Thursday, the company said that its "Zoom Rooms" are now available in eight major U.S. markets. In 2022, AMC announced a partnership with Zoom Video Communications Inc. (ZM) to turn some of the movie-theater chain's locations into workspaces for hybrid teams.

The Zoom Rooms are available at specific theaters in Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Kansas City, Los Angeles, New York City, San Jose, Calif., and Seattle/Tacoma, Wash., AMC said.

-James Rogers

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03-14-24 1149ET

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