Content worth $1 billion

As they say in the movie "The Social Network,"$1 million isn't cool. $1 billion is cool." NBC announced before the Olympics began that they sold $1 billion worth of advertising for their Olympic coverage but they expected to lose $150 million because of the cost of coverage. Today, they said higher than expected ratings (20% more than the Beijing Olympics)means they will probably break even. Would you like your content to be worth $1 billion? What if you had to spend $1 billion to get the value from it? So if you have to spend $1 billion and not make any money on the Olympics, why televise them? As a network programmer, I can tell you that if NBC breaks even on the Olympics they're getting a great deal. Olympic ratings for the NBC network are in the 20s -- far above NBC's regular prime time ratings. Ratings jumps on CNBC, MSNBC, and the NBC Sports network provide a promotional and advertising platform that will drive business to these networks for the rest of the year. The Olympics are an unparalled opportunity to promote network programs. How many times have you seen Mathew Perry's face during commercial breaks? How much money would it cost NBC to get that many eyeballs if they didn't have the Olympics on? NBC is a billion dollar media company, owned by a cable company worth multi-billions. It makes sense for them to spend $1 billion to own the airwaves for two weeks. But you don't have to be a big media company to create content worth $1 billion. When JK Rowling was on the dole in England, wheeling the pram with her baby to the coffee shop so she could write the first Harry Potter book, she probably didn't think it would be a $1 billion idea. Yet it was. The difference is that the Olympics are an established property -- the multiple story lines, the world class athletes, heir 100 year history, ratings success -- all make them worth the money. It makes sense for media companies to pay $1 billion for it in rights and production. But JK Rowling's story shows that you can create your own $1 billion content, if you have the right idea and execute it properly. So keep working. Even if your idea isn't worth $1 billion, you can make a good living on $1 million.