NBC says that it has surpassed $1 billion in advertising sales for the upcoming Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and is on pace to set a record for the most national advertising sold for any single event.

BURBANK, CA - OCTOBER 20: The NBC peacock logo hangs on the NBC studios building on October 20, 2008 in Burbank, California. NBC Universal plans another round of major cuts totaling $500 million from the next yearly budget in spite of recent strong quarterly reports. The cuts come as the media sector copes with recent market turmoil that sent stock prices for many major conglomerates plunging to all-time lows, as much as 70 percent for the past year. NBC Universal stations are facing a serious local ad slump while its parent company, General Electric, is facing financial problems with heavy reliance on financial services in an environment of frozen credit. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)
The NBC peacock logo hangs on the NBC studios building on October 20, 2008 in Burbank, California. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)
loading...

By contrast, the network announced reaching the $1 billion sales milestone only two days prior to the opening of the 2012 Olympics in London.

Seth Winter, advertising chief for NBC Sports, said Tuesday that the sales are an indication of advertisers' desire for big-event programming. Unlike many Olympics, NBC will be able to televise live events in prime time from Rio; the Brazilian city is one hour ahead of the eastern United States.

The Brazilian Olympic games are set to begin Aug. 5.

(Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

 

More From New Jersey 101.5 FM