• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, October 2, 2006

In a little-noticed move that could affect sales for both the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the new Sunday-night NFL package, NBC's top sports sales executive has left for a post at sports-marketing powerhouse IMG. Peter Lazarus, senior vice president of sales for NBC Universal's sports and Olympic properties, begins his new IMG role as senior vice president, business development and sales, next week.

An NBC rep said a replacement has not been named. Tom Paredes, vice president-sports and Olympic sales, and Lazarus' No. 2, could be a candidate if the network stays in-house. Paredes is handling Lazarus' duties on an interim basis; sales for Beijing and the NFL are under his watch.

Lazarus directed the sales efforts for the last two Olympic Games on the NBCU networks. More recently, he played a major role in preventing fourth-place NBC from an expected bloodletting in the upfront. With brisk sales of the new Sunday-night NFL games, NBC was able to garner enough revenue to allow the network to bring in some $1.8 billion--about the same as a year ago.

As recently as a few weeks ago, Lazarus was a visible evangelist for NBC's success with NFL sales, touting a high sellout level and partnerships with an array of blue-chip marketers in media interviews.

In February, he headed network sales for the Torino Winter Games--which the network said brought in $900 million in sales, although NBC lost $70 million on the Games.

At IMG, Lazarus will serve in the Sports & Entertainment group. His total duties are still unclear, but he is expected to develop new revenue streams and attract new sponsors, while generating more dollars from existing ones. IMG's sprawling operations include ownership and operations of tennis, golf and other such events.

At NBC, Lazarus headed sales of prominent sporting events, such as Wimbledon and the U.S. Open golf championship.

Lazarus will report to George Pyne, president of IMG Sports & Entertainment.

While the NFL is a premium property and should continue to generate healthy sales for NBC, the Beijing Olympics could provide a greater challenge for the 40-person sales team Lazarus left behind. Although still a desirable opportunity on Madison Avenue, the Olympics have lost some luster with steroid scandals. Plus, the time difference with Beijing means that scores and results will be readily available before the big-revenue prime-time broadcasts. That may force NBC to counter with an effective Internet strategy to retain--or maybe boost--sales.

Brian Perkins, CMO at Olympic sponsor Johnson & Johnson, said in an interview last week that "the challenge for broadcasters ... is how to adapt to the new media environment. Broadcasters have to adjust."