NBC Surpasses $1 Billion In Olympic Ads

LOS ANGELES — A day before the Olympics kick off in Beijing, NBC Universal announced it has garnered more than $1 billion in advertising revenue for the event for which it spent $894 million to acquire the U.S. broadcast and digital rights.

The network is planning 3,600 hours of TV and Internet coverage of the 17-day event, which begins with the opening ceremony Friday.

NBC says it has made significant profits from the Olympics since the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta.

The network has owned the U.S. broadcast rights for every Games since then, except for the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano, Japan, which were bought by CBS for $375 million.

NBC spent a total of $2 billion for the rights to the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver and the 2012 Summer Games in London.

Comments

[wm1066]

04:02 PM on 08/09/2008

I am boycotting the games in my own way by not watching any games.

[mawrm]

11:34 AM on 08/09/2008

You know what? To HELL with NBC!! That they had the audacity to run a NEGATIVE political campaign ad from John McCain during telecast of the _Opening Ceremonies­_ of the Olympic Games shows they have no scruples, no standards, just a blind lust for the almighty dollar. Though I'm not a fan, I'm fine if they decide to run political ads during the Olympics. Just make sure they're POSITIVE ads that don't disparge others, running completely contrary to the Olympic spirit. To show a mean-spiri­ted, misleading and outright dishonest ad by the McCain camp shows no class or respect for this important event.

[raker]

10:22 AM on 08/09/2008

The Olympics is for suckers.

[marymansour]

07:36 PM on 08/08/2008

NBC and big oil companies. A love story made in heaven. Ain't it grand.

[thegirlnextdoor]

12:57 PM on 08/08/2008

and, I just love it that it would seem that china is going to block live coverage! so - $1 billion for nothing, thanks.

[BARRISTER]

06:49 AM on 08/08/2008

How many lives can be saved, hungry children fed, sick people cured, uninsured assisted by half of what NBC spent to acquire this bull?? America sleeps whilst America burns!!

[pbfishtaco]

01:02 AM on 08/08/2008

Ain't fascism great for the bottom line?

[pbfishtaco]

01:01 AM on 08/08/2008

How many GE ads are included in that figure?

[mexicanamerican1948]

12:26 AM on 08/08/2008

Blood money for the enablers of the butchers of Darfar. Who cares is more villages and churches are burned.Chr­istians do not matter...T­his is where preemptive war would work, what is Mccain and Obama's position?

[wvinvent]

02:22 PM on 08/08/2008

Exactly. An unholy alliance between Corporate Greed and the Chinese Police State.

[realityczech4u]

11:11 AM on 08/09/2008

So a preemptive war in Darfur would be desirable to you? I have a better idea. How about if, from now on, we stop meddling in the affairs of other countries and mind our own business?