Robinson hopes the inclusion of BMX racing will help broaden its appeal.

BMX made its debut as the newest Olympic sport last night, and American Donny Robinson, the world’s top-ranked BMX rider, helped kick off the proceedings. Aside from battling for the gold tonight, Robinson hopes his appearance will help broaden exposure to the sport, and he boasts a marketing portfolio full of partners willing to help him in that endeavor. Robinson’s agent, Octagon’s Heather Novickis, hopes the exposure will “help people see that it is an accessible, popular and cool sport, and I think athletes like Donny are going to help take BMX to the next level.”    Read More  >

The Olympics couldn’t come at a better time for the AVP. The professional beach volleyball company recently reported revenue of $8.8 million, compared to $11 million reported for the same period in 2007. But AVP CEO Leonard Armato is optimistic that the Beijing Games will be a catalyst, spurring the kind of growth the tour experienced after the Athens Olympics in 2004 when revenue increased 38 percent. He shared that and more with SportsBusiness Journal writer Tripp Mickle outside the beach volleyball venue in Beijing.    Read More  >

Gold
Kellogg Co.
The company is taking a cue from rival General Mills' Wheaties and putting the star of the Beijing Games, Michael Phelps, on the cover of its cereal boxes. It will put Phelps on the front of Kellogg's Corn Flakes and Frosted Flakes in the coming weeks in a move best described as scooping the competition.

Shawn Johnson

Silver
Shawn Johnson
After being bested for gold in the all-around competition by teammate Nastia Liukin, the Iowan looked like she might return home without a gold of her own. But Johnson dug one out in her last event, giving her a chance to extend her endorsement window beyond the Games.

Bronze
Beijing's buzz
Is it because the Olympic Green is closed, or because the city is so large and sprawling? It's hard to say, but Helios Partners CEO Chris Welton, whose firm has worked with past Olympic host cities, returned from Beijing saying that the city lacked the buzz of other Olympic cities.

Tin
USOC
How many unflattering situations will the USOC find itself in during the 17 days of the Games? First came the cyclists wearing USOC-issued masks. Then came the organization staying silent when Joey Cheek's visa to China was denied. Now, it has had to apologize to other national organizing committees for offering U.S. Olympians a $50 voucher if they voted in this Thursday's IOC Athletes Commission election, a violation of IOC rules.

NBC earned a 15.8/26 national rating with 26.4 million viewers for Monday night's prime-time coverage of the Beijing Games, down 3.7 percent from the comparable night from a 16.4/27 in Athens in 2004. Through Monday, NBC is averaging a 17.2/30 national rating (29.6 million viewers) for 11 prime-time telecasts, up 8.9 percent from a 15.8/28 in Athens and marking the best rating through the second Monday of a non-U.S. Summer Games since an 18.4/35 for the 1992 Barcelona Games.    Read More  >

With NBC's ratings exceeding projections through the first half of the Games, the network has sold $25 million of ads since the start of the Beijing Games, said Senior Vice President of Sports and Olympics Sales and Marketing Seth Winter. In the past seven days alone, NBC has sold $15 million worth of spots. Before the Games began, NBC said that it had eclipsed $1 billion in ad sales from more than 100 companies.    Read More  >

For more than 20 years, Michael Payne played a key role in the global marketing strategy of the Olympic movement. He served as its marketing director for more than a decade before stepping down after the Athens Games in 2004 to join Formula One. He now runs his own consulting firm.

While he was in Beijing, the author of “Olympic Turnaround” sat down with SportsBusiness Journal staff writer Tripp Mickle.    Read More  >

An opening ceremony to die for. A swimmer making a splash for the ages. A nation of 1.3 billion passionate, or at least potential, fans. TV ratings that “Seinfeld” could take to the bank. Political tension as a backdrop.

Can the Olympics get any better than this?

Ever again?    Read More  >

It used to be the centerpiece. It wants to be again.

So, as the Beijing Olympics track and field competition got under way last Friday, the stewards of the sport in the U.S. are seeking ways to rebuild its tarnished, drug-linked reputation, to repackage itself to garner TV rights fees and to broaden a fan base that reaches beyond the “track geek” aficionados.    Read More  >

David Neal has a simple explanation for why the Beijing Games are resonating this summer and beating ratings projections on TV and online.

It’s feng shui, the ancient Chinese principle of keeping things in order, he suggested from NBC’s broadcast compound in China last Thursday morning, following the network’s prime-time Wednesday-night broadcast. The city of Beijing was built on the principle, which could be helping these Games, the executive suggested.

“Maybe we’re the beneficiaries of that,” said the executive producer for NBC’s Olympics broadcast. The International Broadcast Center, where NBC operates, “is just to the left of the line. Maybe that’s why it’s working so well.”    Read More  >