NBC: Internet Video Fueling Interest In Olympics
Aug 11th, 2008 | By James Lewin | Category: General, Internet TV, Video 
NBC’s Olympics coverage appears to be getting a boost in interest from its Web presence, according to the company:
- More viewers tuned in to watch the first two prime-time Olympics telecasts on NBC than any Summer Games in a decade.
- Friday night’s taped opening ceremony attracted 34.2 million people, up 35% from the last summer games.
“The early numbers suggest that all of this is fueling more interest,” said Gary Zenkel, president of NBC Olympics.
“Streaming will not diminish the ratings,” said sports-media consultant Neal Pilson. “It encourages viewers and provides them with information.”
NBC views its Olympic Web presence as a bit of an experiment. The company has admitted that it has no idea how people will use its Olympic Internet coverage, but that it’s measuring usage closely.
NBC and the Olympics have carefully limited coverage on the Internet; this is likely to limit the overall interest in the event, but drive what interest there is to official channels.
via the WSJ
“More viewers tuned in to watch the first two prime-time Olympics telecasts on NBC than any Summer Games in a decade”
LOL. Pretty funny considering they are every 4 years. Maybe that should have read “this Olympics had more viewers than last Olympics.”
Ah the media word playing…gotta love It