Sony Lands Major Equipment Deal With NBC

Locking up potential sales worth millions of dollars, Sony Electronic Corp. will be the exclusive source of production switchers, studio cameras, monitors and data recorders for NBC through 2009, the manufacturing giant said at NAB.

Sony Broadcast and Professional Systems Deputy President Edward Grebow said the deal includes NBC's CNBC and MSNBC cable channels, NBC Television Network and NBC's O&Os. The deal began gaining momentum when the two companies prepared for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Syndey, Australia, Grebow said. In 1998, Sony provided NBC with integration services including development of the RIB (racks-in-boxes) portable broadcast operations center that the network hopes to ship and reused for Summer and Winter Olympics through 2008.

NBC will also provide input to Sony for the development of new optical disk technologies, the companies said.