AD SALES FOR 2000 OLYMPICS IN SYDNEY ARE RIGHT ON SCHEDULE

          NBC said that ad sales for the 2000 Sydney Games "are
     on track despite numerous obstacles," and sales have
     "exceeded" the $475M the net earned for the '92 Barcelona
     Games, the last Summer Olympics held abroad, according to
     John Consoli of BRANDWEEK.  While NBC "has not disclosed"
     its sales target, insiders said that "it is more than"
     $800M.  GM is the only advertiser which has signed on for
     the next five Olympic Games on NBC, though A-B, Visa and
     Home Depot have "bought packages for more than one."  Among
     those signed on for Sydney are McDonald's, Kodak, IBM, Nike,
     Texaco, UPS and Samsung.  However, some advertisers "have
     avoided buying into the Sydney Games," citing the 16-hour
     time difference and "steep" ad package prices, which range
     from $5-20M.  One ad buyer "complained": "This Sydney
     Olympics won't reach the ratings of the Atlanta Olympics,
     and NBC has raised the price" (BRANDWEEK, 7/26 issue).