BEIJING — A day before the Olympics kick off, NBC Universal announced it has garnered more than $1 billion in advertising revenue for the event for which it spent $894 million to acquire the U.S. broadcast and digital rights. The network is planning 3,600 hours of TV and Internet coverage of swimming star Michael Phelps, left, and the 17-day event. The Opening Ceremony is today.
NBC says it has made significant profits from the Olympics since the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta. The network has owned the U.S. broadcast rights for every Games since, except for the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano, Japan, which were bought by CBS for $375 million. NBC spent a total of $2 billion for the rights to the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, British Columbia, and the 2012 Summer Games in London.
