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With a month to go before the start of the Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina, Italy, NBCUniversal says it has sold out of its advertising inventory for the Games.
The number of advertisers has hit a record for the Winter Olympics, NBCU said, and the sellout is the earliest ever recorded.
The Games will be part of what the media giant is calling a “Legendary February” of programming, alongside the Super Bowl and the NBA All-Star Game.
Along with linear networks, streaming flagship Peacock will play a key role in covering the Winter Olympics. The 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris boosted subscriber levels for Peacock and saw a record ad revenue haul north of $1.25 billion. In announcing the Winter Games sellout, NBCU did not provide any estimates of rates or revenue, though it said it is a new record for the Winter Games on both linear and digital.
Super Bowl LX, which will be played outside San Francisco, also sold its ad inventory early, and NBCU says it had the strongest sports upfront in history in the 2025-26 cycle.
NBCU “has solidified itself as a sports powerhouse and brands have taken notice,” global ad and partnerships chief Mark Marshall said.
More than 100 advertisers are new to the Games, with 85% of overall buyers opting for digital placements. Nearly 60 advertisers have invested in “unique marketing elements,” NBCU added, which is up 174% from Beijing 2022.
Last year, NBCU parent Comcast paid $3 billion to extend its Olympic rights through 2036. That agreement also designates the company as a strategic partner, not just a rights holder.
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