Olympics Is Good Business for NBC Universal

NBC Universal, a unit of General Eleectric Co. paid about US900M to secure the rights to broadcast the Beijing Olympic games and results and has since sold out more than a Billion dollars in advertising alone. For the first two days, it has earned a total of 114 Million viewers, about 20 Million more than the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.

Its huge audiences is being helped by the extravagant Beijing Olympics opening ceremonies and the world-breaking feat of Michael Phelps. There’s a good chance this year’s Olympics Coverage will set a record of the biggest TV ratings for any Olympics Summer Games.

NBC Universal plans to air a total of 3,600 hours of coverage between August 8 and August 24 accross its broadcast, Cable TV and online outlets.

Now that’s a lot of money. Jump here to check out the 2008 Olympics Results and Overall Medal Standings. And oh, by the way, the Olympics Medal Widget is provided by NBC too.