Call it #NBCfail if you want to, but the combined networks of NBC Universal managed to turn the London 2012 Olympics into the most-watched event in television history, according to the number-crunchers at the Nielsen Company.
The 2012 Summer Games end with a bang in the skies over London.
China is rallying around fallen hurdler Liu Xiang Wednesday after he failed to make it past the first-round heat for a second consecutive Olympics. The sympathetic response was a stark contrast to the public outcry over his high-profile withdrawal from the Beijing 2008 Games.
CNN's Stan Grant reports on the impact the 2008 Olympic Games had on Beijing.
There's no UFC event this weekend, and no Strikeforce or Bellator fights, either. So what are mixed martial arts fans supposed to do with ourselves? Well, it's a prime opportunity for us to settle in front of a TV and scout for future stars.
It would take you almost five solid months -- without sleeping or bathroom breaks -- to watch every sporting event at this year's Summer Olympics. More than 3,500 hours of competition from London will be crammed into just 17 days.
Stephanie Rice talks to CNN about the obstacles she has had to overcome to represent Australia at the 2012 Olympics.
Four years after hosting the 2008 Summer Games, Beijing's Olympic legacy appears to be a lasting one.
Some brand-new London Olympics venues will be shrunk or torn down after the Games. Phil Han reports.
It's not just the athletes going for gold in the 2012 London Olympics -- it appears that some of the torch bearers may be trying to cash in on the role of carrying the flame.
We're just four months away from the London Olympics and the city is nearly ready to greet thousands of athletes and millions of visitors.
Friday is the six month mark before the Opening Ceremony for London 2012. Jim Boulden got a tour of the Olympic Park.
London 2012 Olympic organizers said Wednesday they oversold thousands of tickets for the synchronized swimming events at this summer's Games.
Legendary athlete Haile Gebrselassie has told CNN that he aims to be competitive at the 2012 London Olympic Games, despite being impressed by some of the younger runners coming through in long-distance events.
Rory McIlroy tells CNN's Don Riddell about his ambition to become the world's number one golfer.
Hampton Court Palace will be the venue for the cycling time trial event at the London 2012 Olympic Games, it was announced on Wednesday.
Olympic ticket buyers won't be told how much or when money will be deducted from their accounts. Emily Reuben reports.
The torch relay for the 2012 London Olympics will be confined to the United Kingdom and possibly Ireland, it was confirmed when the route was announced on Wednesday.
Tokyo on Saturday formally announced its bid to host the 2020 Summer Olympics, despite setbacks in earlier tries.
Chinese authorities have released activist Hu Jia, his wife posted Sunday on Twitter.
Comcast/NBC will remain the U.S. Olympic network in 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2020. But for now, it's time to focus on 2012.
As the Comcast/NBC presentation neared its conclusion Tuesday morning at the International Olympic Committee headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, Bob Costas stepped to the front of the room to deliver the emotional highlight of the allocution.
Tickets went on sale for the 2012 London Olympics on Tuesday, but some sports fans were unable to process their applications due to problems with the online payment system.
Athletes competing at the 2012 Olympic Summer Games will face more scrutiny about banned substances after organizers said they will be carrying out more doping tests than in any previous Olympics.
Saturday marks 1,000 days until the London 2012 Olympic Games, and officials promise the event is on track and on budget.
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, will host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, the International Olympic Committee announced Friday.
The first venue to be completed for the 2012 Summer Olympics hosts its first major international sailing competition this week, in what is considered a test run for the Games.
American Sanya Richards finally claimed her first global women's 400 meters gold medal with victory in the World Championships in Berlin on Tuesday.
Michael Phelps -- the Olympic gold-medal swimmer who jumped into hot water over a photo of him holding a bong -- has returned to competition for the first time since the Beijing Olympics.
Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps admitted to "regrettable" behavior Sunday and vowed it wouldn't happen again after a British newspaper published a photograph of the swimmer smoking from a bong.
World record holder Paula Radcliffe will return to run in next year's London marathon on April 26 when she faces five of the first six finishers at the Olympic Games in Beijing.
The party of the year in the swimming world took place not in Beijing's Water Cube in August but in a New York City hotel ballroom the week before Thanksgiving. The occasion was the Golden Goggle Awards, the Oscars of the amphibious set, and most of the 43 members of the U.S. Olympic swim team turned out for the splashy event. With their short skirts, high heels and ripped biceps the women were visions of powerful femininity. The dudes wore their tuxedos ironically, with shaggy hair and bow ties askew. Before the awards show began, there was a rip-roaring cocktail hour. The view of midtown Manhattan from the ballroom revealed the grand old Ziegfeld Theatre, which on this night was hosting a red-carpet premiere for the latest overwrought Hollywood drama. Despite the constellation of paparazzi flashes the assembled actors couldn't match the star power at the Golden Goggles.
I have always dreamed of winning a medal at the Olympic Games -- and sailing seemed like a good sport to target.
Brits are known for theater, pageantry, music and humor. But if stodgy politicians have their way, none of that may come through in the 2012 Olympics
The record-setting American calls the ceremony a "great start" to the 2012 games
Grand fireworks and spectacular choreography brought to a close the Beijing Games Sunday as one of the most remarkable Olympics in recent history were declared at an end.
As spectacular as the sports were, the Games in the end had become more of an extravaganza for the Chinese, with the rest of the world tagging along
Great moments define the Olympics. From amazing highs to shocking disappointments, each Olympics produces its own signature snapshots in time.
Fireworks, athletes and pageantry on a scale never before seen in the Olympics opened the Summer Games in Beijing on Friday as the Asian nation kicked off the biggest and most scrutinized Games in history.
The modern Olympic Games have always been a chick-flick moment for women who finally have the camera long enough to turn America's head. They haven't batted their eyes, but performed flips for enough mass adoration to last Mary Lou Retton's lifetime. They haven't vanished as fly-by darlings, but endured as women who have delivered iconic nicknames (Suzy "ChapStick" Chaffee) and haircuts (The Dorothy Hamill 'do) and first-name familiarity (Mia, as in Hamm).
I'm like anybody else. I watch the Olympics because I want to see who wins. But the 2008 Summer Games are intriguing for reasons that go well beyond the 100-meter final, Michael Phelps' bid to become the greatest Olympian ever or the daily mine-is-bigger exercise of comparing medal counts.
Once the gold medals leave Beijing, will China's economy remain gilded?
CNN's Emily Chang shows us where journalists will be spending their time in Beijing.
This year's Summer Olympic Games have been seen as China's coming-out party, destined to be as significant for the host country as the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo were for Japan.
In ancient China, a hat tells of social rank. For the six Ngan siblings, hats tell the story of their rise to fortune.
Mainland Headwear is the sole licensed headwear manufacturer for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, CNN's Joyce Choi reports.
Chicago was among the four cities picked as finalists Wednesday for the 2016 Summer Olympics, setting the stage for a high-profile bidding contest between candidates
Yes, we have Roger. Yes, we developed the "Bird's nest" Olympic stadium. But in Switzerland, the 2008 Summer Olympics are still far away -- and not just geographically.
Beijing will kick off the Olympic torch relay that is shrouded by the turmoil in Tibet. CNN's Jaime FlorCruz reports.
Tibet's spiritual leader Thursday said he was powerless to stop anti-Chinese violence as authorities in Beijing acknowledged for the first time that unrest had spread into neighboring Chinese provinces.
New video from China suggests that security forces have yet to gain complete control of Tibet and neighboring provinces which have suffered eruptions of anti-Chinese violence since last week.
Hollywood director Steven Spielberg's decision to quit the Beijing Olympics over the Darfur crisis is drawing condemnation by China's state-controlled media
ITN's Richard Pallot reports on the call for Chinese President Hu Jintao to take urgent action on Darfur.
Double gold medalist Ben Ainslie headed the first nine names -- all from the sport of sailing -- officially selected for Britain's line-up at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
The IOC formally stripped Marion Jones of her five Olympic medals Wednesday, wiping her name from the record books following her admission that she was a drug cheat
Former European 1,500-meter champion Sureyya Ayhan has tested positive for doping and faces a lifetime ban.
The IOC (International Olympic Committee) should consider a country's record in human and animal rights, as well as its respect for the environment, before granting the said country the honor of hosting the Olympics. The 2008 Beijing Olympics is a result of polical concession and lobbying by prominent businesses. Oscar Lei, Toronto, Canada
The jagged logo for the London 2012 Olympics has attracted a barrage of criticism, with thousands signing an online petition calling for it to be scrapped.
London 2012 Olympics chiefs have defended the newly-unveiled logo following widespread public criticism that it was 'hideous' and a waste of money.
Jack Lemley, the U.S. engineer drafted in to oversee construction for the London 2012 Olympics, has said that he quit because of fears that political rows would delay projects and raise costs.
American cyclist Tyler Hamilton will keep his gold medal from the 2004 Athens Olympics, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled on Tuesday.
Construction of the venues for the 2008 Beijing Olympics has hit problems but organizers are confident they will still be delivered on schedule at the end of next year.
They came, they saw and they conquered like never before.
When the International Olympic Committee met in Singapore to decide which city would win the 2012 Olympics, the odds favored front-runner Paris.
British sports chiefs were euphoric after London was chosen to stage the 2012 Olympic Games.
London has defeated European rival Paris to host the 2012 Summer Games, bringing the Olympics back to Britain for the first time in more than half a century.
International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge opened their four day annual session in Singapore on Tuesday, telling delegates they had a tough decision to make between the five cities competing for the 2012 Olympics.
After a final, furious lobbying effort by an elite who's who of politicians and athletes, members of the International Olympic Committee are meeting in Singapore to decide which of five cities will host the 2012 Olympic Games.
Greek weightlifter Leonidas Sampanis, stripped of Olympic bronze after a doping offense in Athens, has withdrawn his appeal to the international Court of Arbitration for Sport.
London has stepped up its campaign to win the 2012 Olympics with a $20 million carrot to athletes and National Olympic Committees (NOC) worldwide.
Striking French workers took care to express support for Paris's bid to host the 2012 Olympics when the IOC's evaluation commission toured the capital on Thursday.
Paris 2012 Olympic bid chiefs insist a visit by the IOC's evaluation commission will not be affected by a national stike called by French public sector unions for March 10.
Ian Thorpe may skip next year's world championships in order to stay focused for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the Australian's coach Tracey Menzies has said.
In hindsight, NBC Universal's big bet on the Athens Olympics isn't looking so risky after all.
American swimmer Michael Phelps and NBC have something in common: With expectations high, both got off to a shaky start at the Olympics, but both are now showing signs that things have turned around.
The 2004 Olympics are only a hop, skip, and long jump away. But just when corporate sponsors should begin cashing in on the Games' historic return to their birthplace, they're instead looking beyon...
The International Olympic Committee has taken out insurance cover in case this year's Athens Games are cancelled.
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