Online Olympics Viewing Shatters Records

The Internet played an unprecedented role in Olympics viewing this year, with NBCOlympics.com and Yahoo leading the online-coverage pack, the New York Times reports. With 1.2 billion page hits and 72 million video streams, NBC more than doubled its Web traffic from the past two Olympics combined. The Internet lets viewers “create their own broader Olympics experience,” said a ratings analyst.

NBC, which scored the rights to the Beijing Olympics in 1995, was the only place for streaming video and garnered 4.3 million unique visitors a day, say analysts; Yahoo, offering photos and articles, managed 4.7 million. But despite the Games’ online popularity, NBC says the tube is still the most popular Olympic medium, notching 93% of viewing. (More 2008 Beijing Olympics stories.)