Bad Rio Olympic Press Has Helped NBC Ad Sales

The bad press for the Rio Olympics has been non-stop a while now, but as [presidential candidate you don’t like] reminds people daily, there is no such thing as bad press. According to NBC, all the negative stories about Zika and pollution and everything else have raised awareness of the 2016 Olympics and the results have been great for the bottom line. Via AP/USA TODAY:

"“The numbers reflect that,” NBC Sports advertising head Seth Winters said. “Advertisers are exceptionally bullish on these games.” He said NBC had already sold $1.2 billion in national advertising time, at a pace about 20 percent above the 2012 London Games, and is holding back inventory for additional sales. The network hit its internal target weeks in advance, and often that doesn’t happen until after the games start, if the target is reached, he said."

Well, that’s certainly a lot of tape-delayed #branded #content to look forward to over the next few weeks. It’s good to know that this Olympic debacle has worked out for someone, even if it is the fat cats at Kabletown.