NBC builds online audience even as TV ratings soar

For NBC Universal, balancing TV and online coverage of the Beijing Olympic Games has been tricky. After paying $900 million for broadcast rights to this year's Summer Games, NBC Universal executives are determined to protect the television business by drawing viewers to NBC and cable networks like USA. At the same time, they are also resolved to build an online audience through the NBCOlympics.com website, with the aim of drawing in more Internet advertising revenue for future events based on the success of this one. It's a delicate balancing act: Concentrate too much on TV broadcasting, and risk missing the boat on the next generation of Olympic fans online. Or put too much content on the Web, and there's a chance some viewers will ignore coverage on TV, where advertisers have paid NBC top dollar for commercial time.