Prime Time Olympics Coverage is Surprising Success for Network
August 8, 2012 – It’s more than a week into the London Olympics, and Twitter users are still hammering NBC for its tape-delayed coverage, its glitchy streaming online video, and the endless commercials in between and during the competition. But so far, the network’s coverage has been an unexpected success, ratings-wise.
NBC paid $1.2 billion for the U.S. rights to air the London Games, a crazy figure even compared to the 2008 Beijing Games, when it paid close to $900 million. But what may seem crazier is that NBC expected to lose about $200 million airing the Games this year.