US network NBC has surpassed $1bn (€910m) in advertising sales for its coverage of the 2016 summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
The milestone has been reached four months earlier than with the 2012 Games in London, with NBC on track to generate record advertising sales for US coverage of any media event.
The total includes national broadcast, cable-television and digital sales.
“The value of live, big-event programming is more important than ever to advertisers because of its ability to reach large audiences,” Seth Winter, the executive vice-president of advertising sales at NBC Sports Group, said. “The Olympics’ ability to dominate primetime for 17 consecutive nights is unmatched. If brands want to reach viewers and their customers in the third quarter, they have to be in the Olympics.”
NBC has also confirmed that it will broadcast an unprecedented 76 hours of coverage of the 2016 US Olympic team trials across its various platforms, including 60 hours of coverage in primetime. The coverage of nine sports – swimming, track and field, gymnastics, diving, rowing, wrestling, water polo, hockey and volleyball – will exceed the record 67.5 hours provided ahead of London 2012.