• Mediaweek, Wednesday, July 30, 2008 10 AM

NBC Universal said Tuesday that it has sold almost all its Summer Olympics advertising inventory, with the first telecast 19 days away. The company has set an ad revenue target of more than $1 billion for the Games.

Sales have picked up so strongly that "we will soon reach the point where we will hold back inventory to sell during the games," says NBC executive Seth Winter.

Categories seeing strong advertiser interest recently are movies, consumer electronics, corporate imaging, telecommunications and retail. "Advertisers recognize the power of the Olympic brand and the opportunity to engage a mass audience," Winter says. While sales for the Olympics stalled earlier this year, they picked up during the upfront and have continued to be steady.

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