TVP betting on night owls to make Olympics profitable

TVP paid $4 million for the broadcast rights to the 2000 Olympics Games in Sydney. It could be a great investment as far as earnings from advertising is concerned but the one inconvenience is the nine hour time difference between Warsaw and Sydney. Viewership may be reduced due to the late hours of the popular live broadcasts which would decrease ad rates and TVP's profits. As it is difficult to predict how many viewers will tune in, TVP will set the ad rate following the broadcasts. Advertising companies will order the time slot to broadcast their spots and after they will be able to check the reach using the Social Opinion Research Office (OBOP) surveys. The price will be based on those numbers. However experts say TVP will make a profit on the Olympics despite the night broadcasts. (Puls Biznesu, page 10)