Associated Press | The tally is in: NBC lost $223 million on the Winter Olympics in the first quarter.
That’s slightly better than the most recent estimate of $250 million in losses. Advertising sales have improved a bit since NBC parent General Electric Co. made that projection in late January.
The Olympics did bring about $800 million in extra revenue to GE. But NBC had a lot of production and other expenses, including $820 million just to acquire the rights to carry the Vancouver Games on television and online. That expense was cited as the main culprit for the red ink.