AD AGE's Jean Halliday profiles GM's promo plans around
its Olympic sponsorship. The company "will give away one of
its vehicles every night" during the Summer Games in a
promotion with NBC, according to two managers "close" to GM
(AD AGE, 8/28 issue)....In N.Y., Richard Wilner reports that
USA Basketball's men's and women's teams "will be taking a
pass on the low-budget" Olympic Village in Sydney for "posh
digs at the nearby" Pacific Int'l apartments. The
apartments are "being specifically outfitted with larger
beds, special security and phone systems, their own media
center and higher-placed shower nozzles." Wilner notes that
the 16-story, 95-unit building will be "entirely leased" to
USA Basketball (N.Y. POST, 8/31)....USA TODAY's Chris
Jenkins profiles CBC's coverage of the 2000 Games, which
"will be mostly live." CBC Sports Exec Dir Nancy Lee: "We
go live, and we show all the achievements. We don't just
concentrate on Canada. If people in Seattle or Buffalo want
to watch it immediately, they can tune into us." Jenkins
adds that some Americans "simply prefer the Canadian style
of coverage." DC-based Satellite Business News Editor &
Publisher Bob Scherman: "I started seeing all the
promotional [information] from NBC and I was just dreading
being deluged with it for six weeks. I think the CBC is a
great alternative" (USA TODAY, 8/31)....The IOC has
"ordered" Canadian swimmer Mark Johnston to stop posting e-
mail messages on the Toronto Star's Web site. For several
weeks, Johnston -- who will compete in Sydney in three
swimming events -- has been posting updates and "discussing
his goals" on the site (TORONTO STAR, 8/31)....The WALL
STREET JOURNAL INTERACTIVE's David Sweet wrote except for
Istanbul, the other four cities as finalists to host the
2008 Games "have launched Web sites touting their bid. Of
the five eliminated, only Bangkok had put up a venue -- and
that didn't launch until Aug. 4." Though the IOC "wasn't
allowed to consider" Web sites in choosing bid cities,
members "are now able to browse." Because the IOC "voted to
eliminate personal visits to bid cities in December," Sweet
wrote the Web "could play a crucial role in choosing the
best-prepared area for 2008." Sweet: "For Beijing, Paris,
Toronto and Osaka, that's good news. Memo to Istanbul: Time
to launch a site!" (WALL STREET JOURNAL INTERACTIVE, 8/30).
