CCTV’s commercial airtime auction was swamped by advertising agencies and CCTV advertising chief Xia Hongbo said: “When you take into account that August 2008 is the Olympic month, it turns the whole year into a bumper year for advertising.”
CCTV has the exclusive rights to air the August 8-24 Summer Games. China Airlines was among the biggest bidders for commercial airtime. The carrier will shell out more than $5 million for a prime commercial spot after the main evening news.
Last year's auction netted $860 million, around 20 per cent less in terms of income.
