Seven's Rio Olympics broadcast helped it "dominate TV advertising in August, netting 51% of metropolitan agency bookings, SMI figures reveal," according to Arvind Hickman of AD NEWS. But the "broader advertising sector dipped" by 4.7% to A$575.4M ($434M), with "only radio and outdoor avoiding year-on-year drops in spending." Seven's Olympic coverage helped it produce "a more dominant month than the 44% Nine achieved for London 2012." It also helped Seven's digital assets score a new PB -- SMI said that if Seven's Olympics digital channels were a stand-alone digital business, "it would have been the eighth largest digital group in Australia." The Australian Media Editor Darren Davidson reported that Seven's Olympic advertising "haul" is estimated to be worth between A$120M ($90.5M) to A$130M ($98M). While the Olympics have provided Seven with "a huge boost, elsewhere the story was grim." The two largest categories both shrunk, TV (excluding digital) declined 2.6% and digital suffered a 5.4% drop, its "largest interim YOY decline" (AD NEWS, 9/19).
