U.S. NBC Sells Record $900 Million in Commercial Time for Olympics

U.S. NBC has sold a record $900 million in commercial time for the Sydney Olympics and expects to make a small profit on its coverage.

Keith Turner, president for NBC sales and marketing, said Sept. 7 neither the Olympic bribery scandal last year nor the fact that the Games will be shown entirely on tape in the United States discouraged advertisers.

The $900 million includes commercial time sold on the NBC broadcast network as well as NBC's cable networks CNBC and MSNBC.

That is 32 percent higher than the record $680 million during the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, which were broadcast on the NBC network alone.

One industry insider, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the average price of a 30-second commercial in prime time on NBC this year was about $615,000, up from $420,000 in Atlanta four years ago.

The games run from Sept. 15 through Oct. 1.

The 15-hour time difference between Sydney and New York could mean viewers will know the results before they get to see the matches.

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