NBC Expects Sochi Games To Be Profitable, Will Air Extra Night Of Primetime Coverage

NBC expects the ‘14 Sochi Games to be profitable, a marked reversal from the $223M loss from the '10 Vancouver Games reported by former network owner GE. Speaking during a press conference Tuesday, NBC Sports Group Chair Mark Lazarus said Olympic advertising sales are "pacing extremely well." He added, "This will be a very good moment (financially) for our company." Lazarus said the net's ad sales and distribution deals, including a first-ever Winter Olympics deployment of every event live on digital platforms, have made it possible to avoid similar losses in Sochi. NBC's sales team has benefited from having an extra night of primetime programming to sell. The IOC added a dozen new sports events, such as snowboard slopestyle and team figure skating, and needed to expand the Olympics from 17 to 18 days in order to schedule the competitions. As a result, NBC Tuesday announced that its primetime coverage of the Sochi Games will begin a day earlier than usual (Mickle & Fisher, SportsBusiness Journal).