• Variety, Monday, May 5, 2008 10:30 AM

NBC is betting heavily that its huge $894 million investment in the Summer Olympics in China will pay off in ads and promotions. But it's a risky bet, considering how the stature of the Games has decreased over the past few decades, say some insiders.

NBC will offer a combined 3,600 hours of coverage, far more than Athens in 2004, on its flagship outlet and many NBCU cable and digital outlets. It's not an easy strategy to figure out with "everything moving so fast online and trying to integrate advertisers into new media. It's like hitting a moving target," says one sport business analyst.

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