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NBC takes Olympic gold
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July 22, 1996: 9:07 p.m. ET
Huge Olympic Games audience comes at a high price.
From Correspondent Carmine Gallo
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - An estimated 80 million people watched the Olympic Games in Atlanta this weekend. No one is more pleased than NBC.
The network's ratings for opening ceremonies were up 70 percent over ratings for the Barcelona Olympics in 1992.
NBC executives, Olympic sponsors, and advertisers expected a large number of viewers to tune in for the centennial Olympic Games, but many are surprised at just how many people the games are attracting. Just over 40 percent of the viewers watching television over the weekend were tuned to the games.
Wall Street analysts are not surprised, however. Stuart Rossmiller, media analyst for Deutsche Morgan Grenfell, believes that the Olympic torch run through the United States provided the combustion for the ratings.
"It has a phenomenon of rooting for the hometown. Now, the hometown is Atlanta, not Barcelona. The torch has been run over hill and dale, everyone knows the torch was going to Atlanta. It's been great advertising for NBC."
The network is banking on that hometown appeal. General Electric, NBC's parent company, paid nearly $500 million just for the broadcast rights. It will have to take in much more than that to cover production costs and make a profit but there are plenty of companies paying big money to be at the party.
"You've got global marketers. This is the ultimate global stage. The Budweisers, the IBMs, it's something they want to be part of . The commercials are specially designed Olympic commercials. They don't just run regular advertising."
Advertising executives expect the high ratings to continue. So, apparently, does General Electric. It has shelled out $3.5 billion for the rights to Olympic games through the year 2008. 
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