US media company NBCUniversal has sold a record $800m (€600m) in advertising for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, according to the AdAge.com website.
The amount is a Winter Games record and comes from fewer advertisers than the previous highest total of $750m that NBCU recorded for the 2010 Vancouver and 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games.
NBCU said the figure may yet rise to $970m. The London 2012 Summer Olympic Games set the record for overall Olympic advertising sales with a figure in excess of $1bn.
Seth Winter, executive vice-president of sales and marketing at NBCU’s sports division, NBC Sports Group, said: “If you're a particular company, you want to shut out your competitors – and have a sole share of voice over those three weeks."
NBCU has posted the record figure despite ongoing concerns that advertisers would drop out of backing its coverage of Sochi 2014 due to anti-gay laws in Russia.
“We have not seen a single advertiser fall out,” Winter added. “While I know all of the advertisers are concerned, and will address it in their unique way, none of them have been shy about investing in the Olympics.”
Global brands such as McDonald’s, Visa, Coca-Cola, BMW and Kellogg’s are amongst the companies to have signed advertising deals.