NBC "lobbied unsuccessfully" to change the running order of the Rio Games' Opening Ceremony in an effort to put the U.S. team "near the back," according to Tariq Panja of BLOOMBERG NEWS. In the traditional Parade of Nations, teams "enter the arena in alphabetical order." A ROCOG spokesperson said that organizers had "considered a request to change the language of the ceremony from Portuguese to English, which would have put the United States’s 555 athletes near the back, giving American audiences a reason to watch the full broadcast." As it is, the team will "enter somewhere in the middle," as the U.S. is "known as Estados Unidos" in Portuguese. ROCOG Exec Dir of Communications Mario Andrada yesterday indicated that IOC rules "require that the official language of the opening ceremony has to be that of the host country." An NBC spokesperson "denied that the group lobbied to change the language." The spokesperson did not comment on whether NBC wanted to change the running order (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 7/27). In DC, Matt Bonesteel noted the U.S. athletes will "come out 64th in the 207-nation parade, sandwiched between the Federated States of Micronesia and Estonia" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 7/27).
AHEAD OF SCHEDULE: NBCU CEO Steve Burke during Comcast's earnings call yesterday said that the company "expects to make 'a lot more' from the Rio games" than the $120M profit it registered from the '12 London Games. Burke said that the company has "already hit its advertising budget." He added that NBCU would normally hit its budget "just as the games started or shortly thereafter." Burke also said that NBCU has "found more ways to make money from the Olympics in addition to national advertising" (BROADCASTINGCABLE.com, 7/27).
