Billion-dollar Olympics

Overall ad sales have been dreadful, but the Beijing games are one of those grand television events that prove to be the exception. Madison Avenue snapped up more than $1 billion in advertising time in advance of NBC's 3,600 hours of coverage, with additional business expected to be written over the next two weeks. Interest was apparently sluggish at first, but a bunch of late money has flowed in. The network is reportedly charging $750,000 for each 30-second spot in live events. From Variety:

NBC said it saw a surge in ad dollars thanks to the solid ratings chalked up by the Olympic trials for swimming, gymnastics and track & field, which averaged better numbers (peaking at about 8 million viewers) than similar televised trials leading up to the 2004 Olympics. Advertisers also took note of the way NBC showcased such high-visibility athletes as Michael Phelps, Dara Torres, Tyson Gay and Shawn Johnson during the trials. Star athletes generate bigger Nielsen ratings.