InternetNBC's Olympics TV Strategy Pays Off Online

Web coverage doesn't appear to be cannibalizing TV viewership, and vice versa.

For NBC Universal, balancing TV and online coverage of the Beijing Olympic Games has been as tricky as any maneuver on the balance beam, parallel bars or vault. After paying $900 million for broadcast rights to this year's Summer Games, NBC Universal executives are determined to protect the television business by drawing viewers to NBC and cable networks like USA. At the same time, they are also resolved to build an online audience through the NBCOlympics.com Web site, with the aim of drawing in more Internet advertising revenue for future events based on the success of this one. It's a delicate balancing act: Concentrate too much on TV broadcasting, and risk missing the boat on the next generation of Olympic fans online. Or put too much content on the Web, and there's a chance some viewers will ignore coverage on TV, where advertisers have paid NBC top dollar for commercial time. RELATED ARTICLES Olympic Champion Phelps a Big Splash Online Bloggers Fuming Over 'Pretty Face' Olympic Fakery The Olympics: A Digital Frenzy Like No Other Spammers Go for Olympics Gold Olympics Clips Headed for YouTube For more stories on this topic: "I think this is really about tapping into both online and offline," said Bob Jeffrey, chief executive of advertising agency JWT, a unit of WPP Group. "I think that's also a big part of what marketers want to do." NBC Universal has posted strong numbers so far for both its TV broadcasts... [ Read more on www.internetnews.com ]

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