CBS will sell "roughly" $610M in advertising for the
Nagano Winter Olympics, and between the network and its
O&Os, "total profit may approach" $100M, according to Steve
McCellan of BROADCASTING & CABLE. CBS TV Network President
of Sales Joe Abruzzese said that CBS, to date, has sold
$530M in ad sales with another $20M to be sold before the
start of the Games. McClellan adds that CBS "may make a
profit" of $30-40M on the Olympics, while the O&Os will sell
about $60M in advertising, "virtually all of which falls to
the bottom line." CBS also is selling the time for TNT's
50-hours of Olympic programming. CBS is "guaranteeing" a
19.7 primetime rating to advertisers, "far lower" than the
27.8 that the '94 Games drew. Also, "fewer advertisers are
spending money." In '94, 95 advertisers spent $360M at the
Lillehammer Games, while 33 advertisers are spending $530M
for Nagano. Abruzzese said that the average price for a
30-second spot is about $500,000 but it could cost as much
as $800,000 per unit (BROADCASTING & CABLE, 11/24 issue).
THE NHL AT THE OLYMPICS: With some NHL players
criticizing the personnel of teams participating in the
Nagano Games, columnist Gare Joyce wrote, "The theory: With
the five-ring pageantry, the NHL is staging its Olympic
tournament as a coronation on ice. The reality: With its
dissenters and power brokers the tournament will have a lot
more in common with a political convention, which is to say,
NHL business as usual. The consequences: The reality will
be too plain to the viewers at home and to the keepers of
the flame. As a result, the NHL will go to the Olympics
only once" (GLOBE & MAIL, 11/22). In Boston, Kevin Paul
Dupont called on players to end disputes, and added that the
NHL "needs the Olympics, far more than the [NBA] ever needed
its Dream Teamers. This is the NHL's chance to get its game
in a fine romance with the world" (BOSTON GLOBE, 11/23).
