OLYMPIC INTEREST IS EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS, NBC SAYS
TV viewers are so excited about the Olympics that NBC's corporate owners said they now expect to break even on the Games after once predicting they'd take a $200 million loss. Ratings are 30 percent higher than what NBC had privately predicted, said NBCUniversal CEO Steve Burke. That means NBC can sell more commercial time -- and at higher prices -- than anticipated. Despite social media complaints about NBC filling its prime-time with taped events, it hasn't dissuaded viewers. There are even indications that it may have helped: 38.7 million people tuned in Tuesday night, when Americans could have easily learned in advance that the U.S. women's gymnastics team won a gold medal and swimmer Michael Phelps set a record for career medals earned. "We are way ahead of where we thought we'd be," Burke said.
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