NBC goes for the GOLD.

The wisdom of the network's $3.6B bid for five consecutive Olympics starts being tested in Sydney

Five years ago, NBC melded a big part of its future with the Olympics, agreeing to pay an unprecedented $3.6 billion for the U.S. TV rights for all five of the biennial games from 2000 to 2008. At the time, it was the richest deal in sports history.

The world will soon learn whether NBC's move was a wise one. The first installation in the mega-series--the Sydney Summer Olympics --begins an 18-day run starting Sept. 15.

With less than three months to go before the opening ceremonies and with preparations in full swing, NBC is optimistic. It expects to sell $1 billion in adevertising over 441.5 hours of coverage on the broadcast network and its cable companions, CNBC and MSNBC.

That's 40% more ad revenue than the $700 million that the network sold for its coverage of the Atlanta summer Games in 1996. The $1 billion includes close to $150 million in sales on the NBC-owned stations, compared with $90 million for e O&Os four years ago.

The O&Os are completely sold out, while the networks--which are being 1d as a package--are 90% sold at this point.

Major advertisers include General Motors, which has committed $500 million to a package covering all five Olympics that NBC is putting on; AT&T, which has committed $300 million in a similar …