NEW YORK -- An estimated 26.5 million people watched NBCs coverage of the Olympic opening ceremony, a sharp 35 percent drop from the record-setting viewership of the curtain-lifter in London four years ago.The opening ceremony of the London Games was seen by 40.7 million people in the U.S. NBC suggested Saturday that the gap will be narrowed when details about time-shifted viewing and people who streamed Friday nights telecast on mobile devices become available in coming days.To compare linear TV viewership today versus four years ago isnt logical, NBC Sports spokesman Greg Hughes said.The four-year difference was much kinder to NBC the last time around; the Beijing opening in 2008 reached 34.9 million people, according to the Nielsen company.One of NBCs pre-games fears came true: viewership dropped off after the entrance of the United States team in the Parade of Nations. But because the Portuguese alphabet was used, the U.S. team (Estados Unidos) appeared much earlier in the broadcast than is typical.NBC also front-loaded many of its commercial breaks early in the broadcast so there were fewer during the Parade of Nations. Judging by the harsh social media reaction, that may have backfired. It was a culture shock to binge-watchers and time-shifters who have become accustomed to television without commercials.The ceremony also ran long, and wasnt helped by NBCs decision to air it on tape-delay so it started in prime time. The lighting of the Olympic cauldron wasnt shown until after midnight. A joke by Matt Lauer during the teams entrance had a ring of truth: Are we at Timor-Leste (East Timor) already? he said. Time is flying by.The London Games proved a smash success for NBC. Viewers may simply be less interested in the Olympics from Rio -- and that wont become clear for a few more days.BIKE RIDE: The bicycle race won by Belgian rider Greg van Avermaet was a blast to watch, unfolding over several hours on NBC on Saturday, the kind of experience you cant get in prime time. It was a lesson for announcers Paul Sherwen and Christian Vande Velde to keep in mind that many viewers are new to their sport. The sheer chaos of the mountainous portions of the race, the course clogged with motorbikes, autos and spectators who ran alongside and even touched competitors, seemed shocking. It didnt seem to strike the announcers as unusual, since they didnt mention it.WATER QUALITY: Given all the pre-games publicity about water pollution, it was wise of rowing announcers Leigh Diffey and Mary Whipple to discuss the conditions during a Saturday morning rowing heat, with details about the steps Olympians are doing to protect themselves. Its almost on the back-burner, Whipple said. Its a non-issue so far. Still, its something announcers for all of the water sports should keep bringing up.PRESIDENTIAL POLITICS: The presidential election race intersected with the Olympics for the first time a little past 8 a.m. Saturday, with the first commercial for Democrat Hillary Clinton.REFUGEE: The entrance of the 10-member team of refugees was a highlight of Fridays opening ceremony, so it was important for NBCs Jimmy Roberts to return to the story of these athletes during Saturdays telecast. What a strange and wonderful concept -- running toward something instead of running away, Roberts said. Roberts noted that none of the athletes are medal contenders, but its worth keeping up with their stories as the Olympics go on. Yeezy Boost 700 Cheap .ca. Hey Kerry, big fan of yours, just finished reading your book. I think that we all saw the Canucks/Flames line brawl just after puck drop. 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Ferrari protégé Charles Leclerc has won the 2016 GP3 championship with one race to spare, despite crashing out of the opening race in Abu Dhabi.Leclerc headed into the title showdown with a comfortable 29-point lead over ART Grand Prix teammate Alexander Albon, but could only qualify fifth for the first race, while Albon took pole position.Having made a poor getaway, the Ferrari Academy driver -- who has taken part in four practice outings for Haas -- dropped to sixth and struggled to find a rhythm during the early stages of the race. However, the 19-year-old was able to seal the championship when Albon crashed out of the lead while defending from ART teammaate Nyck de Vries.ddddddddddddThat promoted Leclerc up to fifth, but he was also unable to complete the race when he suffered a collision of his own with Haas development driver Santino Ferrucci.With both title rivals failing to finish, Leclercs significant points lead over Albon proved sufficient to crown him champion.Over what has been a hugely consistent season, Leclerc has taken three victories -- with one race still left to run -- and has only finished outside of the points on three occasions, including Saturdays retirement. ' ' '
