PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — NBC Universal says it expects to lose money on the upcoming Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
NBC Sports chief Dick Ebersol says advertising sales for the games have picked up over the past few months. He said the loss is more due to the heavy rights fee NBC paid to show the games. NBC won the rights to broadcast the Vancouver Olympics and the 2012 Summer Games in London for $2.2 billion.
The head of NBC’s parent company, General Electric’s Jeffrey Immelt, told investors recently that he expected NBC would lose millions of dollars on the games.
NBC and its cable companies will begin showing the games Feb. 12.