With digital coverage of the Beijing Olympics more ambitious than ever before and industry analysts issuing dire predictions of the death of TV, The Christian Science Monitor had to pop the question: “Is this the summer that the Internet finally kills television as we once knew it?”
Short answer: the jury is still out.  Monitor staff writer Gregory Lamb, who queried a range of experts on the topic, outlines the arguments on both sides, but steers clear of drawing any conclusions.
The story briefly addresses the prospects for video viewing via mobile …

Although it was a work day, online traffic to websites with Olympics-related content and video soared on Monday, August 11, according to Nielsen Online. 
Unique visitors to the video section of NBC’s Olympics site increased by nearly 140% – from 858,000 on Sunday, August 10, to 2,030,000 on Monday, August 11, Nielsen reported.
Meanwhile, traffic to Yahoo’s Olympics section grew 85% on Monday, compared to daily web traffic the prior day.

Rank:
U.A., Aug. 11
Website
Unique Audience:
Aug. 8
(in 000’s)
Unique Audience:
Aug. 9
(in 000’s)
Unique Audience:
Aug. 10
(in 000’s)
Unique Audience:
Aug. 11
(in 000’s)

1
Yahoo Olympics
1,477
3,324
2,839
5,253

2
NBC Olympics
2,664
4,008
3,264
4,560

3
AOL Olympics
395
1,010
1,205
1,192

4
Sports Illustrated Olympics
293
331
667
646

5
Beijing2008.cn
429
780
581
607

6
New York Times Olympics
341
466
301
482

7
ESPN Olympics
273
343
579
368

8
Fox Sports on MSN Olympics
49
95
259
182

9
USA Today Olympics
280
184
231
163

10
CBS …

American swimmer Michael Phelps’ quest for a gold medal record has captivated fans — and bloggers.
During the first week of the Olymipcs, Phelps was the most buzzed-about athlete, according to Nielsen Online, which analyzed online discussion of more than 50 high profile athletes competing in basketball, gymnastics, beach volleyball, and swimming events.
Basketball players Yao Ming, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James, as well as American swimmer Dara Torres rounded out the top five in Nielsen’s ranking of the most buzzworthy Olympic athletes. 
Overall, swimmers and basketball players received the lion’s share of …

Small businesses are especially dependent on favorable testimonials — and for many consumers, online forums have become the favored means of sharing feedback about businesses and products.
“About 60% of Americans are putting content on the Web, and it can affect how your product or service is perceived in the marketplace,” Pete Blackshaw, Nielsen Online’s EVP of Digital Strategic Services, told Fortune Small Business in a recent Q&A.  “Consumers trust each other more than they trust advertisers or businesses.  The question is, how do you turn it to your advantage?”
In general, …

Google and Yahoo! were again the number one- and number two-ranked Web brands in July, according to Nielsen Online.

Rank
Brand
Unique Audience

1
Google
123,161,000

2
Yahoo!
116,178,000

3
MSN/Windows Live
99,512,000

4
Microsoft
92,318,000

5
AOL Media Network
91,776,000

6
YouTube
74,809,000

7
Fox Interactive Media
70,103,000

8
eBay
56,111,000

9
Wikipedia
51,786,000

10
Apple
50,694,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (July 1 – 31, 2008)

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Mobile Internet users in the growing Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) mobile markets are likely to visit entertainment-themed websites while on the go, according to a report released Tuesday by Nielsen.
Meanwhile users across the U.S. and Europe commonly use their phones to access news and information online, Nielsen found. 
Entertainment, gaming, and music websites rank among the top five categories visited via the mobile Web in all four BRIC countries, while email, weather, news, and search are the top categories for both American and European mobile Internet users. 
In the U.S., entertainment, …

Senators McCain and Obama are each spending sizable sums of money on TV advertising during the Olympics.  But when it comes to placing display advertising online, both candidates have relatively unimpressive records, Mediaweek Senior Editor Mike Shields noted Monday in a column.
“The 2008 race has been lametastic when it comes to online advertising,” Shields wrote, adding: “McCain’s been nearly invisible when it comes to display advertising.”
Senator McCain placed 16 million online display ad impressions in June, while Sen. Obama ran 80 million impressions, Shields noted, citing Nielsen Online data. 
View additional …

Like their counterparts in Europe and North America, Chinese Olympics fans are turning to multimedia sources for coverage of the 2008 Beijing Games, according to a recent Nielsen survey of Internet users in China.
In addition to watching the Games on TV, three of four people in China will keep abreast of Olympics events via streaming online video, one-third will rely on mobile phone text updates, and 14% will view video clips of the Games on their mobile phones, Nielsen’s survey found.
Two in 10 Chinese plan to use online video streaming as their main method of …

During the first two days of the 2008 Olympics (August 8-9), NBCOlympics.com was the most visited, Olympics-related U.S. website, Nielsen Online reported Monday.
Yahoo’s Olympics site drew slightly larger unique audiences in the two days leading up to the Opening Ceremony in Beijing (August 6-7), but its popularity was eclipsed by NBC’s site after the Olympics Opening Ceremony aired on NBC on Friday, August 8.

Rank
(by Aug. 9 UA)
Website
Unique Audience:
Aug. 6
(in 000’s)
Unique Audience:
Aug. 7
(in 000’s)
Unique Audience:
Aug. 8
(in 000’s)
Unique Audience:
Aug. 9
(in 000’s)

1
NBC Olympics
841
1,392
2,664
4,008

2
Yahoo Olympics
1,505
1,430
1,477
3,324

3
AOL Olympics
511
718
395
1,010

4
Beijing2008.cn
39
114
429
780

5
New York Times Olympics
432
369
341
466

6
ESPN Olympics
196
80
273
343

7
Sports Illustrated Olympics
458
239
293
331

8
USA Today Olympics
34
55
280
184

9
Olympics.org
NA*
10
16
153

10
BBC …

Nearly 45% of U.S. and 31% of UK mobile video users will join the mobile audience for the 2008 Olympic Games, Nielsen Mobile reported Thursday. 
Nielsen’s data shows that U.S. and UK consumers are especially likely to view high-profile, short events, such as Track and Field and Gymnastics, on their mobile phones.  
The mobile Internet will also play a critical role in mobile Olympics viewing, with 23% of U.S. and 17% of UK mobile Internet users planning to track the Games through their phone browsers, according to Nielsen.
“Mobile media will change the …