NBCUniversal & With LA2028 Combine Media To Increase Sponsorship Sales
To create a one-stop shop for companies interested in aligning themselves with the Olympics, NBCUniversal is partnering with the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles and Team USA. This first of its kind new strategy will enable both U.S. Olympic TV ads and Team USA sponsorships to be sold through one entity. While the focus is LA2028, the partnership will run from 2021–2028 covering 4 Olympic and Paralympic games to maximize the money companies are willing to pay to be associated with such a popular and transcendent global event. This new partnership also allows brands to advertise themselves in the years leading up to LA2028.
The goal of the partnership is to raise billions of dollars with the United States Olympic Committee and LA2028 having set a target goal of $2.5 billion in corporate deals. However, the thought is that over those eight years NBC’s ad sales will be most undoubtedly higher. Previously the entertainment division of the Comcast Corporation was able to set a Summer Olympics record in 2016 with $1.2 billion in sales as well as a Winter Olympics record in 2018 with $920 million in sales.
“As audiences become more disparate, it’s never been more important for marketers to have a simple and unified way to reach them,” stated Casey Wasserman, founder of Wasserman Media Group and chairman of LA2028. “To be able to do that with the biggest event in the world is unprecedented.”
However, the onus will not lie solely on LA2028, and its committee as NBC has agreed to backstop a portion of the $2.5 billion goal. The idea behind this part of the negotiation is to take some of the responsibility off of as well as protect the host committee if they are unable to reach their financial goals. And for NBC, the more LA2028 can raise, the higher the overall probability sales will surpass their intended goal.
While the details of this particular partnership will be new, NBC is joining into a previously established joint venture. The International Olympic Committee requires that the host committee works with local, national committees to sell various sponsorships leading up to the games. The partnership is called the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Properties.
“Nothing brings people together like the pure emotional power of the Olympic Games. This partnership between NBCUniversal and LA 2028 is a true first for the industry, and gives marketers the opportunity to make an unrivaled economic and cultural impact,” stated Linda Yaccarino, chairman of advertising and partnerships at NBCUniversal. “Together, we’re building what’s never been available before — the chance to be an exclusive partner of a monumental global movement for the next decade, culminating with the first Summer Games in the U.S. in more than three decades.”
The objective of this partnership is to make NBC’s advertising inventory, both digital and TV, a part of the larger organization. Therefore companies working with NBCU will have the chance to negotiate so they can use the Olympic logos and trademarks, which are controlled by the US Olympic Committee and LA2028 in their advertising campaigns.
“We’re coming together and really in an incremental and exponential way, bolstering the resources of what Casey’s company brings to the table and what NBC brings to the table,” stated Yaccarino.
While Team USA currently has over 20 domestic partners — United Airlines and Kellogg Co. being two — they will all expire after the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo. And while some will have right of first refusal to continue their partnership, it will ultimately leave the door wide open for the new venture. The deal covers 4 Olympic and Paralympic Games — the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing, the 2024 Summer Games in Paris, the 2026 Winter Games which are yet to be awarded, and the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles. According to Yaccarino, NBCU is set to hire a sales team that will sell sponsorships for product marketing, IP rights, local activation and NBCU’s multiscreen coverage of the upcoming games.
“At no other time in Olympic and Paralympic history have the stakes been higher, and yet more rewarding. We are at an inflection point in the sports, lifestyle and live event business that demands a complete reimagining of the model and approach to embracing and involving marketers,” stated Wasserman. “I am so proud to partner with NBCUniversal and their team of innovators to bring the true promise of the Games to audiences in a way that is more connected and relevant. NBCUniversal’s commitment to our partnership guarantees 2028’s success like no other Games before it.”
Brands have been wanting to leverage the entirety of NBCUniversal’s portfolio for their benefit and take advantage of the many sponsorship rights associated with LA2028, the U.S. Olympic team and the U.S. Paralympic team. The goal is to generate partnerships through both confidence and complicity.
