NBC Makes Another Splash

What can Michael Phelps do for you?
Ask the sport of swimming, which suddenly has an unprecedented television contract from NBC — thanks in great part, no doubt, by the massive ratings surge generated by Phelps' march to a record-breaking eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics.
The Peacock Network announced earlier today it has inked a deal for coverage of the 2009 world aquatic championships in Rome (which are sure to include Phelps), as well as the next three U.S. swimming nationals. NBC's coverage in Rome includes two weekends, along with mid-week airtime on the new Universal Sports digital channel.
"The whole world watched as Michael Phelps took his sport to a new level and introduced a generation of fans to swimming through his extraordinary achievements," Dick Ebersol, chairman of NBC Sports and Olympics, said in a statement. "His accomplishments transcend sports and, are in fact, a cultural phenomenon. We're greatly looking forward to following the next chapter in his career."
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And then there was one ...
NBC Universal's total Olympic audience hit the 206 million mark through 13 days, surpassing the overall number for Lillehammer 1994 — the most-watched Winter Olympics in U.S. television history (thanks to that Tonya and Nancy nonsense) with 204 million viewers over 16 days.
By the time the sun rises, Beijing 2008 should surpass the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics, which attracted total viewership of 209 million for 17 days, as the most-watched even in American television history.
NBCOlympics.com, meanwhile, has now attracted more than one billion page views.
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CBC Newsworld's Claire Martin, whose reports on the temperamental weather in Beijing have become a regular feature on CBC Olympic broadcasts, earned special marks in this corner with this line. Asked about race walking by Olympic Prime anchor Scott Russell, Martin said "that looks like a sport invented by Monty Python."
Spoken like a true devotee of the Ministry of Silly Walks, I'd say.
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Will this didn't take long. NBC Olympics has announced the release of a new DVD, Michael Phelps: Greatest Olympic Champion ... The Inside Story. It's now available for purchase at NBCOlympics.com.