US media group NBCUniversal said it has created a new Olympics record by selling $1 billion (€820 million) of national television and digital advertising for its coverage of the London 2012 Olympic Games.
NBCU said the figure represented the most ever for an Olympic Games and approximately $150 million more than the total for its coverage of the 2008 Games in Beijing. The figure includes sales across all NBCU platforms that are airing the London Olympics, including NBC, NBC Sports Network, MSNBC, CNBC, Bravo, Telemundo, NBCOlympics.com, the NBC Olympics Live Extra mobile and tablet app, two specialty channels, and a 3D channel.
The media group said the decision to stream every athletic competition at the Games live on NBCOlympics.com and, for the first time, on the NBC Olympics Live Extra app, “significantly contributed” to its ability to reach $1 billion.
“This is a tremendous accomplishment that is a credit to the hard work of our entire Olympic team and speaks to the long-term benefits of our Olympic investment,” Mark Lazarus, chairman of NBC Sports Group, said. “The proliferation of our digital, mobile and tablet Olympic content, including the decision to live stream all sporting events, played a vital role in reaching this extraordinary milestone.”
NBCU said digital advertising sales for London 2012 have exceeded $60 million, roughly three times more than the total for the Beijing Olympics when NBCOlympics.com alone streamed 2,200 hours and 25 sports live. National television advertising sales for the 2012 Games accounted for more than $950 million, up approximately $100 million in comparison with the Beijing Games.
“This feat is a testimony to the quality of Olympic programming and the unparalleled way NBCU presents, produces and covers the Games,” Seth Winter, executive vice-president of sales and sales marketing for NBC Sports Group, added. “It also demonstrates the power of the Olympics. No other property has such as diverse group of sponsors, who can target the broadest range of demographic and psychographic audiences. We are not done yet and will continue to sell during the Games.”