NBCU set for ‘most profitable Olympics’

US media company NBCUniversal is expecting to sell at least 15 per cent more advertising for the Rio 2016 Olympics than the previous London 2012 edition of the summer Games.

NBC has deals in place with more than 100 advertisers, according to Seth Winter, executive vice-president of sales at NBC Sports.

Winter told the Los Angeles Times newspaper that the company has already hit its sales target for coverage of the Rio Games, which will end up being "the most profitable Olympics in history" for NBCU.

Advertising sales revenue is approaching $1.2bn (€1.08bn) with sales for the London Games having brought in just over $1bn.

Winter said that NBCU generated profits for its coverage of London 2012 and the Sochi 2014 winter Olympics.

It is the earliest that NBCU has ever hit its advertising sales target for the Games.