NBC MAKES OFF WITH AD GOLD IN GAMES COVERAGE.

Byline: Farrell Kramer Associated Press 

If NBC had only seen the estimated $70 million profit its 17 days of Olympics generated and returned to business as usual, that might have been enough. After all, NBC's foray into Barcelona, Spain, brought a $99 million loss, on the back of the much-maligned pay-per-view TripleCast.

But powerful ratings, about 25 percent higher in prime time than advertisers were promised, and the heavy promotion of its other programming during the games are likely to help NBC for some time to come.

``They're going for dynasty here,'' predicts Tom Wolzien, a media analyst at Sanford Bernstein & Co., a brokerage firm, and a former NBC News producer and network executive himself.

That the investment community can see only gold where television critics found all manner of problems is perhaps no surprise. The NBC games were hit for too much schmaltz, too much focus on U.S. athletes, too much time spent in the studio, too little time spent on the actual competition.

Those who study the media business, however, note that despite the complaints, the TV fans kept coming. The prime-time rating for the games came to 21.6, according to Nielsen Media Research. A single rating point represents 959,000 households.

``A big number in itself tends to put the onus of argument on the other side,'' said Ron Fredrick, director of the national broadcast group at J. Walter Thompson USA, a major advertising agency.

Like it or not, the network delivered economically. And if you didn't like it, there's more bad news: NBC has paid $3.55 billion for rights to broadcast five of the next six Olympic games, with the only break being the Winter 1998 games in Nagano, Japan, which CBS has won.

The network's successful formula of programming the games, more as an entertainment event than pure sports, with numerous taped athlete profiles and other feature packages, will no doubt be rolled out again during the Summer Games in Sydney, Australia, four years hence.

NBC's strong ratings may help it charge more than it would have for ad time during the Sydney games. It sold $685 million in network ads this time around, and the fact that it exceeded its promised prime-time household rating in the mid-17s turned some heads.

``If they don't deliver what they promised, that's bad and they have to do make-goods,'' said John Reidy, a media analyst for the brokerage firm Smith Barney. Make-goods are free time given to advertisers to make up for viewer shortfalls.

``If they overdeliver, that's a lucky advertiser and may form the basis for a somewhat stronger performance four years out.''

Overdeliver they did. Besides the obvious advantages, the franchise NBC has built with its Olympic team headed by Bob Costas will serve it well in future games and everyday sports programming, just as ABC's Olympic team made anchor Jim McKay a fixture in many homes.

Familiar faces are an important aspect of broadcasting, particularly in times of turmoil like the Atlanta Olympic bombing. The approach is seen in everything from the heavy use of network news anchors to the reappearance of stars in series after series, movie after movie.

Indeed, NBC was the heaviest advertiser in its own network broadcast, running 552 ad spots throughout the games, according to Competitive Media Reporting, which tracks ad expenditures. They included promotions of its news programs and sports, as well as its fall entertainment lineup, including new shows like ``Men Behaving Badly'' and Brooke Shields' ``Suddenly Susan.''

The games' next biggest advertisers were Coca-Cola Co., with 267 spots; General Motors Corp., with 200; and McDonald's Corp., at 188.

While it's not unprecedented for a network to heavily advertise during its Olympic broadcast, the level of promotion speaks volumes of its value.

``What you're trying to do, and this is one of the advantages of the Olympics, is you build anticipation for the fall season,'' Reidy says. ``It's wonderful you've had this broad audience for 2-1/2 weeks, but 2-1/2 weeks does not a television season make.''