Mazza’s Olympic Task: 17 Days, 5,535 Hours
Dave Mazza, SVP of engineering for NBC Olympics, is kind of busy right now. He’s overseeing the massive technical preparations so everything’s ready for the July 27 opening ceremonies in London. And while he and his team have years of experience covering the games, there’s always new technology to try out. “We always say that we will always use tried-and-true products to do the Olympics as we can’t afford the risk of something new. Then, when I look at the list of new stuff, it’s staggeringly long. We can’t pull off everything we’re trying to do with the tried and true. It’s just the nature of the beast.”
Demand, More Spots Boost Olympics Haul
NBC affiliates hit the streets offering a variety of creative sponsorship options for potential advertisers ranging from spots in the games to adjacent related programming to local newscasts. It’s paying off with reports of sales pacing well ahead of four years ago.
Stations See Local Ratings Gold In Olympics
With the July 27 start of the London games getting closer, news crews from NBC O&Os and affiliates across the country are hard at work producing stories, profiles and packages to give them a local ratings boost. And some are prepping to make the trip overseas to be on hand for the 17 days, generating more material for themselves and, in some cases, their group-owned siblings.
