NBCUniversal's record-setting sales of advertising during the Paris Summer Olympics gave the overall ad market a boost in June, according to the latest figures from ad tracking company Guideline.
Even though the Olympics were on for only five days in July, ad spending was up 14% from a year ago, with spending on the Paris Games accounting for 43% of the increase.
Excluding Olympic spending, overall ad spending would have been up 8%, which Guideline says marks the 15th consecutive month of ad market growth.
For national TV, spending was up 10% in July including the Olympics. Excluding the Olympics, national TV would have been down 7% for the month.
Digital also got a boost from the Olympics, with spending up 18% in July, compared to 15% without Paris.
NBCU has said that Olympic ad revenue hit record levels. Its last estimate was that spending was $1.2 billion, exceeding the COVID-delayed 2021 Tokyo Summer Games, but because of high ratings, NBC was able to sell inventory it had reserved for make-goods had viewership fallen short of estimates.
Guideline said it expects the Olympics to have an even larger impact in August. The Olympics concluded on August 11.
Guideline draws its ad spending data directly from computer invoices from the major media-buying agencies.
