NBC Sales Sluggish For Beijing Games With One Month To Go

NBC's attempts to sell its remaining ad inventory for the Beijing Games are "not shaping up all that well," as ad buyers said that the Games "are looking to be a disappointment for the network," according to Kevin Downey of MEDIA LIFE MAGAZINE. Media buyers said that about 15-20% of the TV inventory remains unsold, down from "roughly 30[%] just prior to last month's upfront ad market." Ad spending on the Games "will most likely fall short of NBC's goal of more than" $1B, though a lot will "depend on how viewers and advertisers respond to the Olympic trials now airing." The Olympics have been hurt by the "negative press over many months, and that's led many advertisers to hold back from committing to the Games." One buyer said, "This is a toxic Olympics, and some people don't want to be a part of it." Downey wrote there also have been "increasingly negative reports on China's deplorable living conditions and air pollution." What NBC "most needs is a shift in the story away from the negative toward some of the positive stories that are emerging from the trials, such as the performances of swimmers like Michael Phelps and Dara Torres." Those types of stories "appear to be coaxing out advertisers who a few weeks ago were considering staying out of this Olympics" (MEDIALIFEMAGAZINE.com, 7/8).