OIympic ad sales fall behind schedule ;NBC secures $700 million, but needs more for profit.(Sydney Summer Olympics)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)

Advertising Age, April, 2000 by Friedman, Wayne

Though NBC has locked up $700 million in advertising for the Sydney Summer Olympics, which begin in five months, the network is still far from clearing a profit, according to advertising executives.

Keith Turner, president of advertiser sales and marketing for NBC, said the network has sold about 80% of its goal for the Games, due to air Sept. 16 through Oct. 2. "And we still haven't even done business yet with the movie companies," he said. Nor, he added, has NBC signed on many dot-com advertisers yet.

But competing networks say NBC should be at the 90% to 95% level at this time before the event.They estimate NBC will only be able to pull in $50 million from the dot-com companies, and a lesser amount from movie marketers.

Though 80% seems...

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