NBC hits ratings gold, best ever – despite extensive online features, streaming events

NBC’s London Olympics ratings defy expectations NBC’s ratings are on track to outdistance numbers from the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which many TV industry executives had figured would be a high-water mark. The last Summer Olympics to consistently attract such large crowds were the Montreal Games in 1976 — long before cable TV networks began splintering the audience. Wow, …

Ai WeiWei reviews London’s opening ceremony for 2012 Olympics – criticizes Beijing’s

Brilliant. It was very, very well done. This was about Great Britain; it didn’t pretend it was trying to have global appeal. Because Great Britain has self-confidence, it doesn’t need a monumental Olympics. But for China that was the only imaginable kind of international event. Beijing’s Olympics were very grand – they were trying to throw a party …

Orange County has become a dominant location for Olympic athletes to live/train

There seems to be a competition between San Diego (who is sending 80 athletes) and Orange County, for the king of the Olympics:   If Orange County was a nation it would have ranked among the top 10 in gold medals at each of the past two Summer Olympics. At the 2004 Games in Athens, Orange …

London Olympics this summer, 2012 – every event will be livestreamed on web and mobile

NBC has partnered with YouTube to provide its video player and livestreaming infrastructure for the London 2012 Olympic Games. Part of its strategy is to broadcast every live event in some form, showing more than 3,600 hours of Olympic coverage…using (the YouTube) player to deliver livestreams on NBCOlympics.com. “We’ll also include replays of Web-exclusive events, all television broadcasts, interviews with …