Here’s proof that online content can coexist with broadcast

When NBC announced plans to serve up massive amounts of video from the Olympics online, US broadcasters could be heard screaming as far away as Bejing. Could it be that broadcasters believe that their business is a zero sum game. It turns out ratings for Olympics boradcasts are exceptional along with a huge online audience. Maybe braodcasters will soon grasp that offering content online is a great way to build an audience for the broadcast.

After paying $900 million for broadcast rights to this year’s Summer Games, NBC Universal executives are determined to protect the television business by drawing viewers to NBC and cable networks like USA.

At the same time, they are also resolved to build an online audience through the NBCOlympics.com website, with the aim of drawing in more Internet advertising revenue for future events based on the success of this one.

It’s a delicate balancing act: Concentrate too much on TV broadcasting, and risk missing the boat on the next generation of Olympic fans online. Or put too much content on the Web, and there’s a chance some viewers will ignore coverage on TV, where advertisers have paid NBC top dollar for commercial time.

“I think this is really about tapping into both online and offline,” said Bob Jeffrey, chief executive of advertising agency JWT, a unit of WPP Group Plc. “I think that’s also a big part of what marketers want to do.”

NBC Universal has posted strong numbers so far for both its TV broadcasts and online coverage. Nearly 25 million people have visited NBCOlympics.com, viewing 456 million pages and watching close to 22 million video clips, NBC said on Thursday, recording more page views than for the entire 2004 Games in Athens. Meanwhile, U.S. TV ratings are running second only to the 2000 Games in Atlanta. (Yahoo)