Broadcaster France Televisions "beat audience records thanks to the Games" but in terms of advertising revenue, the results are disappointing, according to Marion-Jeanne Lefebvre of LES ECHOS. Even though large sporting events are never paid back immediately, France Televisions Sports Dir Daniel Bilalian said that he hoped to reimburse "45% of the €65M ($80.3M) invested for the broadcasting and production rights of the Games." Advertising revenue from the Games, "which is negotiated at a 60% higher clip than normally," brought in €6M ($7.4M). The '04 Athens Games brought in €16M. France Televisions Marketing Dir Bruno Belliat said: "The objective was ambitious, knowing that the 2004 Athens Games, comparable since they were aired on the same time frames, only brought in about €20M in gross advertising but it is true that, considering the time period of the year, we could have hoped for more significant results." The reasons for such low returns include the financial crisis that has "slowed down investing" but also the end of advertising after 8pm. Belliat added: "The most watched events, like the 100m and 200m track and field events, all take place in 'prime time,' so after 8pm" (LES ECHOS, 8/13). SPORTUNE.fr's Marcelo Martins noted that in '09, "advertising after 8pm on public channels was banned." This was a big blow to France Televisions and kept it from "shining in terms of advertising revenue" during the London Games (SPORTUNE.fr, 8/13).
