CNBC's "Business Insiders" discussed whether the Games are
over-saturated by a "marathon of Olympic commercials" with BBDO
Worldwide Chair & CEO Allen Rosenshine. Rosenshine said compared
to NBC's Barcelona coverage (where there were 125 advertisers, as
opposed to only 55 in Atlanta) the "sense of saturation is far
diminished." He added the higher-than-expected ratings could
cause "far greater interest next time around." Rosenshine, on
his clients, who have been "happy" with NBC's ratings: "Clients
this year are certainly getting more than their money's worth
from the Olympic buys." "Business Insiders" also discussed
future Olympic sponsorships and the possible effects of the
"glitch" perception in Atlanta with the IOC's Dick Pound and
Michael Payne. Payne, noting "virtually all" world-wide sponsors
have already renewed for Nagano and Sydney: "The Nagano local
sponsorship program is already completed and we are well advanced
in completing all the negotiations for the Sydney program. So,
the outlook for Olympic sponsorship looks very encouraging."
Pound said to keep the glitch reports in "in perspective":
"Ninety-eight percent of a fabulous technical presentation has
worked perfectly well, and I think probably by the end of today,
we'll have a one-hundred percent system" (CNBC, 7/24).
