Olympic Updates

A rain delay in Beijing set aside some of the outdoor events today like the BMX races. However, the rain did not stop Women's Beach Volleyball! And the rain can't stop the monster Olympic TV Ratings that NBC is throwing around.

NBC claims that last Saturday night the Michael Phelps swim meet was the highest watch program since 1990.

"Yeah, sure, television ratings have been strong. Average prime time viewership was up 15% during the first nine days compared with the 2004 games in Athens. Why? Two words: Michael Phelps."

And how about the online content? Will it eat into the TV lineup?

Experts say "No." In fact, they indicate that it helps the prime time events as people used the online content to fill in at work, while commuting, or in between events. With higher TV ratings and a successful online venture it looks good for upcoming Olympics to broadcast more and more events online.

"As a result, International Olympics officials look forward to an expected sharp jump in revenue from broadcast and sponsorship fees for the 2014 winter games in Sochi, Russia, and the 2016 Summer Games in London. The bulk of broadcast rights for those two games will go out for bid next year.

To the delight of Olympics organizers, broadcasters are finding that as they provide hundreds more hours of Olympics footage to feed streaming video for the internet and even mobile phone screens, it does not eat into television viewership. Instead, people watch Olympics on television while at home, then watch it online while commuting or at work.

"People overall are consuming more media," Lumme said.

At one point in recent days, Lumme said, 1.1 million people in Britain were watching video online of British athletes. NBCOlympics.com, which provides online streaming of video, is receiving 30 times more video views now than during the Athens Games, he added."

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  US tops Australia 116-85 to reach basketball semis

  BEIJING - Don't doubt this U.S. men's basketball team — and sure don't challenge them, either. Especially if it's going to make Kobe Bryant flash his NBA MVP form.

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  4 more foreign activists detained in China

  BEIJING - Two elderly Chinese women who applied to hold a protest during the Olympics were ordered to spend a year in a labor camp, a relative said Wednesday. Police later squelched a pro-Tibet demonstration.

• US men's volleyball team heads to semifinals

  BEIJING - The U.S. men's volleyball team came from behind to defeat Serbia in five sets and remain undefeated in Beijing.

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  Afghan medalist wins a house, cheers from country

  KABUL, Afghanistan - Noor Ahmad Gayezabi said a silent prayer while watching the small family TV with his 13-year-old son. "Help Nikpai. Help Nikpai. Help Afghanistan."

• Walker wins women's 400-meter hurdles

  BEIJING - Melaine Walker of Jamaica has won the gold medal in the women's 400-meter hurdles in an Olympic record.

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  US beats Japan 4-1 to make Olympic softball final

  BEIJING - Crystl Bustos hit a three-run homer in the ninth inning as the U.S. Olympic softball team beat Japan 4-1 in extra innings and will play for its fourth straight gold medal.

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  US men clinch medal, go for gold, in beach v'ball

  BEIJING - Americans Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser will play for the gold medal in beach volleyball.

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  Ukrainian silver medalist in doping investigation

  BEIJING - Lyudmila Blonska of Ukraine is under investigation for a positive doping test and could be stripped of her silver medal in the Olympic heptathlon.

• Tajik boxer who bit foe won't face more sanctions

  BEIJING - Dzhakhon Kurbanov, the light heavyweight from Tajikistan who bit his opponent on the shoulder in a quarterfinal bout, won't face additional sanctions or suspension by the International Boxing Association (AIBA).

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  Jamaica seek more glory after Bolt double

  BEIJING (Reuters) - Jamaica celebrated Usain "Lightning" Bolt's double sprint Olympic victory and set their sights on yet more track glory in China on Thursday.

• Prime-Time Metered Market Tuesday Ratings: NBC's Summer Olympics Blockbuster Continues

  -Ratings Breakdown: NBC's Beijing Summer Olympics steamroller continued, with a whopping 18.4 rating/29 share in the overnights for the prime-time (8-11 p.m.) portion. Take a look at the half-hour breakdown:

• National Ratings in Prime-Time: Week of August 11, 2008

  Once again, it was all about the Olympics, with the 2008 Games from Beijing leading NBC to an advantage over the five competing networks combined (including MyNetworkTV) of 75 percent in households, 14.76 million viewers, 113 percent in adults 18-49, 110 percent in adults 25-54 and 119 percent among adults 18-34. Comparably, and according to NBC, this is now the fourth most-watched event in U.S. television history behind the games from Atlanta in 1996, Lillehammer in 1994 and Athens in 2004.

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  Bolt strikes double gold in sprint with another world record

  BEIJING (AFP) - Jamaica's Usain Bolt broke the 200-meter world record Wednesday to complete the first Olympic golden sprint double in 24 years and the first 100-200 twin triumphs to feature two world records.

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  More Americans held as China steps up scrutiny

  BEIJING (Reuters) - At least eight American blogger-activists and several other foreigners have been detained in Beijing as the government intensifies a crackdown on pro-Tibetan protests in the home stretch of the Olympics, rights groups said on Wednesday.

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  Boris heads to Beijing as 2012 campaign kicks off

  LONDON (AFP) - London mayor Boris Johnson left for Beijing Wednesday to attend the closing ceremony of the Olympics, where he will formally receive the flame from China for the 2012 Games.

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  Britain's Brown to talk human rights with Chinese leaders

  LONDON (AFP) - Prime Minister Gordon Brown is to raise human rights issues with Chinese leaders when he attends the Olympic Games in Beijing, he said in a letter released Wednesday.

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  King Kobe rules "Bling Dynasty" in China

  BEIJING (Reuters) - There is a story about Kobe Bryant once flying into China in a private jet and being unable to get off the plane for fear of being crushed by fans.

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  Sprint superman Bolt fulfills childhood dream

  BEIJING (AFP) - Double Olympic gold medallist Usain Bolt says it will be Thursday - his 22nd birthday - when it finally sinks in he has fulfilled his childhood dream of being a world record-holder in the 200 metres.

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  Italy and Russia through to men's Olympic volleyball semis

  BEIJING (AFP) - Italy edged Poland 3-2 in a men's volleyball quarter-final thriller at the Beijing Olympic Games on Wednesday.

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  UK's Brown to raise human rights with China

  ON BOARD FLIGHT TO BEIJING (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown urged China on Wednesday to make more progress on human rights, saying the issue needed to be addressed not only during the Olympic Games.

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  US suffer gold medal wipeout

  BEIJING (AFP) - United States suffered a gold medal wipe-out on Wednesday after suffering another dismal track and field performance which virtually conceded Olympic Games supremacy to China.

• Coach says he and Phelps will be in business

  BALTIMORE - Michael Phelps' coach says he and his record-breaking athlete are extending their partnership from training into business, though the details are fuzzy.

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  Jamaica and U.S. set to battle it out in sprints

  BEIJING (Reuters) - The latest round of Jamaica's sprint battle with the United States in the women's 200 meters and Jeremy Wariner's 400m clash with fellow American LaShawn Merrit are the highlights of Thursday's athletics program.

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  Martina loses 200m silver as US protest upheld

  BEIJING (AFP) - Churandy Martina of the Dutch Antilles has been stripped of his Olympic 200m silver medal after the US team's protest that he had run out of his lane was upheld.

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  Far from Beijing, Chinese transfixed by Olympics

  DONGTAI, China - Perched on a stool beside a roadside fruit stand piled high with melons and pears in farming country north of Shanghai, Meng Zhoucui conceded she's not a big sports fan.

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  Jamaica's Bolt breaks 200 mark, gets sprint double

  BEIJING - Usain Bolt of Jamaica broke the world record by winning the 200 meters in 19.30 seconds Wednesday night, becoming the first man since Carl Lewis in 1984 to sweep the 100 and 200 gold medals at an Olympics.

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  U.S. men to face Argentina in basketball semifinals

  BEIJING (Reuters) - The unbeaten United States continued their relentless quest for gold in the men's Olympic basketball tournament by crushing Australia on Wednesday.

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  More firsts for China but curtains for Yao

  BEIJING (AFP) - China again pushed its sporting boundaries Wednesday by claiming more Olympic firsts, winning its maiden yachting gold medal and booking