from John Ourand of SportsBusiness Daily,

The general ad sales rule when it comes to the postseason is that networks break even on a five-game series and start to make money when a series gets extended to six games. A seven-game series? That’s all gravy. As the Stanley Cup Final heads to Game 7 on Wednesday for the first time in eight years, I reached out to NBC Sports to see just how hectic the atmosphere is inside their ad sales office. As you would expect, the staff spent today actively selling Game 7 -- a process that will continue right up until the puck is dropped. NBC execs will be watching ABC tonight, as well. If the NBA Finals ends in Toronto after Game 5, they expect to see even more advertisers in the market looking at Blues-Bruins Game 7.

NBC says that roughly 25% of its Game 7 ad sales inventory is pre-sold, mostly to traditional NHL sponsors. Like all other Game 7s, the network’s ad sales execs are scrambling to sell the remaining 75%. All networks also use their Game 6 and 7 inventory to provide “make-goods” -- which are advertiser credits for underperforming shows elsewhere on the schedule.

more SCF notes along with other sports...