美国NBC重金投资奥运

    去年6月，美国全国广播公司（NBC）据称耗资43.8亿美元拿下截至2020年底的奥运会转播权。这对于近半收入依赖转播费的国际奥林匹克委员会（IOC）真可谓是从天而降的一个大馅饼。在NBC的这笔大投入中，7.75亿美元将用于2014年俄罗斯索契的冬季奥运会，12亿美元用于2016年里约热内卢的夏季奥运会。但如今这家广播公司已经切身体会到奥运会转播并非是只赚不赔的买卖：该公司在2010年的温哥华冬季奥运会上亏损2.23亿美元，主要原因是经济衰退导致广告投放减少。不过，NBC仍看好赢得的播放时段。而且，有机会推广其秋季电视剧，也使得这些潜在的损失有所值。

    随着与奥运会相关的投入增加，NBC希望自身也能获得更多的宣传，吸引来更多的眼球以及资金。而且NBC也不是傻瓜：它在温哥华虽然亏了钱，但也意识到如今的观众观看（NBC拥有独家转播权的电视、网络和移动网络）比赛往往不是为了追赛事进程，而是为了看某个体育明星。看看北京奥运会的收视排名就一目了然了：唯一一晚收视率能接近奥运会开幕式当晚3,490万观众的是“飞鱼”迈克尔•菲尔普斯勇夺第八金的那一晚。当然，观众们也可能是为了观看女子团体体操比赛，但如何解释有3,220万人恰恰就在混合泳接力赛开赛前切换到这个频道上？菲尔普斯的粉丝们。著名单板滑雪运动员肖恩•怀特的例子也相似：在温哥华冬奥会上，除了开幕式，怀特夺得男子U型槽冠军那晚是唯一一个高收视率夜。

    当然，近年来，电视也已注重讲述奥运会运动员的个人故事——NBC Universal的亚当•弗瑞菲尔德表示：“这种亲近而私人的故事风格来自于美国广播公司（ABC）的鲁伊•阿利奇，迪克•埃伯索尔在这里进一步深化了这一模式”——像菲尔普斯这样的全球偶像将这一模式发挥到极致。正是像菲尔普斯、短跑明星乌塞恩•博尔特、美国沙滩排球组合米斯蒂•梅-特雷纳和凯莉•沃尔什这样的明星吸引来了观众——也吸引来了钱。今年夏季预计会看到更多这样的“生命中的一天”，美国游泳明星瑞恩•洛克特、体操明星肖恩•约翰逊等可能给观众带来激动人心的感人瞬间。当然，里约热内卢奥运会还会呈现更多的故事，但届时需要有一位新的收视率冠军来取代菲尔普斯（这位万人迷将于伦敦奥运会后退役）的地位。

    译者：早稻米

    Last June NBC spent a reported $4.38 billion to secure Olympic broadcast rights through 2020. That's a hefty windfall for the IOC, which gets nearly half its revenue from fees broadcasters are willing to pay (see chart above). Of NBC's big expenditure, $775 million will go toward the Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, and $1.2 billion to Rio de Janeiro in 2016. But the Peacock Network has learned the hard way that broadcasting the Olympics isn't a sure bet: It lost $223 million on the Vancouver Games in 2010, mostly because of recession-crimped advertising money. Still, the network loves the time slot wins, and the chance to promote its fall shows makes it worth the potential loss.

    But as the dollars associated with the Games go up, so too is there more hype, more eyeballs, and more money for the network, it hopes. And the Peacock is no dummy: even though NBC lost on Vancouver, it's learning that viewers now tune in (on TV as well as Web and mobile, where NBC has exclusive rights) not to catch a certain sport, but to see an individual star athlete. Just look at the Beijing ratings: The only night even close to the Opening Ceremony's 34.9 million viewers was a Michael Phelps night. Sure, they could have been coming for the women's team gymnastics, but how to explain the 32.2 million that tuned in just for the Smash Relay? Phelps fans. Shaun White gives a similar example: His men's halfpipe bid was the only night of high ratings for Vancouver, apart from the opener.

    Of course, TV has focused on telling intimate stories about individual Olympians for years -- Adam Freifeld of NBC Universal says, "The up-close and personal stories were borne from Roone Arledge at ABC, and Dick Ebersol expanded on the model here" -- but globally popular figures like Phelps have brought it to an extreme. It's people like Phelps, track star Usain Bolt, or U.S. volleyball duo Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, who bring the audience -- and the money, too. This summer, expect to see more of those "day in the life" clips about inspirational heartthrobs like Ryan Lochte or gymnast Shawn Johnson, and then, yes, even more of them at Rio de Janeiro, where a new ratings-happy head will have to grow into Phelps' place -- the fan-favorite is retiring after London.