Record numbers forecast for Vancouver, but not record profits

The International Olympic Committee’s marketing director estimated 3.5 billion viewers would experience some of Vancouver’s 2010 Winter Olympics.

Timo Lumme said more than 300 broadcasters in 200 territories delivered the first all high-definition Winter Games to TV viewers. He said the total amount of content delivered was 50,000 hours, which is more than Salt Lake 2002 and Turin 2006 combined.

“In four short years from Torino to Vancouver we’ve had a continuing digital explosion,” Lumme said. “We now have the same amount of hours globally covered on digital media, Internet and mobile, as we have on the old media, broadcast.”
In Canada, a record 22 million people were watching when Sidney Crosby scored the gold medal-winning overtime goal in the hockey final. CTV reported average prime time viewership of 5.8 million.

The ratings were in record territories, but the recessionary Games won’t translate to record profits because of the advertising slump. NBC parent General Electric already announced in December that it would lose $200 million because of Vancouver 2010 and is being coy about its post-London 2012 plans. NBC Olympics chief Dick Ebersol is bearish about Sochi 2014, mainly because it's eight hours ahead of New York. Fox and ESPN have mulled bids.

Also in December, CTV Olympics president Keith Pelley said the aim was to break-even. CTV bid US$153 million five years ago for 2010 and 2012 rights, more than double the CBC contract for US$73 million for 2006 and 2008.

"We've said what we're going to say about the economics leading into the Games. Now we're totally focusing on the actual Games and we'll address the consolidated numbers shortly thereafter,” Pelley said during the Games.

The IOC promised VANOC a roster of 11 global sponsors, but it stalled at nine and no new deals were announced in Vancouver. Last summer, the IOC pledged to help VANOC with losses up to $22 million unless the gap could be narrowed through other means.

The B.C. government is the ultimate guarantor and launched a $38 million tourism ad campaign before the Games. The You Gotta Be Here out-of-home ads took up substantial space in the Olympic city and at transit stations, filling space that would have been used by private sponsors had the recession not happened.