NBC's Olympic Ad Sales Lag

International broadcasters fume over odd times

(NEWSER) - Some marquee events at the 2008 Beijing Olympics will air live during US prime time, and the schedule is giving international TV execs a scorching case of jet lag. But complaints from outside North America are falling on deaf ears, the Wall Street Journal reports, because money talks: NBC paid $894 million for broadcast rights; Australian TV paid $64 million. More»

Police stake out whistleblower's studio, shut down blog

(NEWSER) - The Chinese artist who has made investigating the deaths of children in the Sichuan earthquake a personal crusade is facing a government crackdown, reports the CBC. Ai Weiwei's widely read blog has been deleted, and plainclothes police officers are staking out his studio in Beijing. Ai has relaunched his blog on an American server but said, "I don't know how long it will last before it is blocked." More»

Dream Team wins Beijing preliminary game

(AP) - The United States opened its campaign for Olympic basketball redemption today with a 101-70 rout of host China that had even the home crowd oohing and aahing. And fans including President Bush got what they came to see."I had five dunks in one game. That's because of the crowd. Last time I had five dunks in a game I was like 17," said Team USA's Kobe Bryant. More»

For some countries, Beijing is about judo, handball and badminton

(NEWSER) - Basketball, Speedo-wearing athletes and gymnastics floor routines might be the toast of NBC on this side of the ocean, but lesser-known Olympic disciplines will drive other nations to the edge of their collective seat, reports Time. Here are five:

1. Badminton: Responsible for Indonesia's lone gold, the sport with 125-mph backhand smashes captivates much of Asia, especially China.

'Fuwa' are in the firing line ahead of Beijing Games

(NEWSER) - The troubled run-up to the Beijing Games hasn't spared the cartoon mascots, the Wall Street Journal reports. China's critics have already created mock characters for the five—like "GenGen Genocide"—and superstitious Chinese fear a link between the "witch dolls" and the disasters the country has suffered this year. The already hyper-commercialized "Fuwa," or good-luck dolls, are a fish, panda, Tibetan antelope, swallow and the Olympic flame. More»