The Three Olympic Sports You Do Not Want To Miss This Week

NBCUniversal enters the final week of the 2024 Paris Olympics on a Simone Biles-like run.

Helped by strong Team USA performances from gold medalists such as Biles, swimmer Katie Ledecky and sprinter Noah Lyles, NBC said that viewership for the 2024 Games averaged approximately 33.8 million viewers across TV and streaming platforms through the first five days, a 79 percent increase from the 2021 Tokyo Games, based on data from Nielsen and Adobe Analytics.

That jump is good news for the NBCUniversal, which in 2014 paid $7.65 billion for the U.S. media rights for the Olympic Games through 2032. It also is a boost for sponsors, who committed $1.25 billion to advertise at the Paris Games, the Washington Post reported.

“Clearly, the Olympics are back,” NBCUniversal chairman Mark Lazarus said on a conference call late last week. “It reminds me and those of us who were in London in 2012 of the enthusiasm that the crowds have here and what the excitement is at home.”

The bounce back could have been predicted, although perhaps not to this large of an extent. The Tokyo Games, scheduled for 2020 but postponed to 2021 because of the pandemic, experienced a viewership decline of about 27 percent from the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Ratings for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing dipped even lower, down 42 percent from the 2018 Games in South Korea.

Proximity to the U.S. clearly has helped this time. NBC is benefitting from the decision to air live events during the day in the U.S., something that was not practical because of the time differences in Tokyo, Beijing and South Korea. Paris is only six hours ahead of the Eastern time zone.

PREVIEWING THE WEEK AHEAD

Women’s Gymnastics

Simone is not done yet? Biles will compete Monday on the balance beam and in the floor exercise in the women’s gymnastics individual finals as she looks to add to her collection of 10 Olympic medals — seven gold, one silver and two bronze.

U.S. teammate Suni Lee will compete on the balance beam and Jordan Chiles also will compete in the floor exercise. Both won gold medals in the team all-around competition.

To catch their final acts, be prepared to rise early. The balance beam finals are scheduled to begin at 6:38 am ET at the Bercy Arena. The floor exercise finals are to begin at 8:20 am ET.

Biles made a plea to the international media after winning a gold medal in the vault on Saturday.

SNOOP AND HOOP

NBC clearly is promoting Snoop Dogg for his next gig as a judge on the network’s The Voice reality show, and his appearances designed to capture a new demographic have been clever and understated.

Here is Snoop crip walking with the Olympic Torch. Here is Snoop eyeing Mona Lisa. Here is Snoop confronting escargot with sidekick Martha Stewart in a swanky French restaurant. Here is Snoop dancing with Biles and Chiles.

Snoop accompanied the U.S. men’s basketball team on its trip to Lille before its Pool C game against South Sudan last week, and it will not be a surprise to see him when the men’s and women’s begin medal round play this week.

LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry and the top-seeded men meet Brazil in a quarterfinal game Tuesday at 3:30 pm ET as Team USA begins a quest for its fifth straight gold medal. Nikola Jokic and Serbia, Shae Gilgeous-Alexander and Canada and Victor Wembanyama of host France also have advanced.

Diana Taurasi and A’ja Wilson lead the U.S. women into the quarterfinals against Nigeria on Wednesday. The women are seeking their eighth straight gold medal. Taurasi would win her historic sixth.

MEN’S MEDAL ROUND SCHEDULE (all ET)

Tuesday: Germany vs Greece, 5 am; Serbia vs Australia, 8:30 am; France vs Canada, noon; U.S. vs Brazil, 3:30 pm

Thursday: Semifinals, 11:30 am, 3 pm

Saturday: Bronze medal game, 5 am; Gold medal game, 3:30 pm

WOMEN’S MEDAL ROUND SCHEDULE (all ET)

Wednesday: Serbia vs Australia, 5 am ET; Spain vs Belgium, 8:30 am ET; Germany vs France, noon ET, U.S. vs Nigeria, 3:30 pm ET

Friday: Semifinals 11:30 am, 3 pm

Sunday: Bronze medal game, 5 am; Gold medal game 3:30 pm

ATHLETICS PICKS UP STEAM

Sprinter Noah Lyles can claim the title as the fastest man in the world after winning the 100-meter sprint in a photo finish at the Stade de France on Sunday, one of the early events in a stacked track and field program that begins in earnest this week.

Lyles looks to add gold in the 200 meters, his best event, and as a member of the 4×100 relay team. The 200 meter finals are Thursday, which also is the first round of the 4×100 competition. The 4×100 finals are Friday.

U.S. sprinter Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is among the favorites in the 400 meter hurdles, which began Sunday conclude Thursday. She wold be a contender for three medals if she competes in the 4×100 and 4×400 relays. She won a gold medal in Tokyo in the 4×400 relay.

Olympic power couple Tara Davis-Woodhall (long jump) and Hunter Woodall (400 meter Paralympics) are in their second Olympics together after competing in Tokyo, where Tara was sixth and Hunter won a bronze.

Tara — just look for the cowboy hat — was the silver medalist at the 2023 World Championships. The long jump competition begins Tuesday and the finals are Thursday. The Paralympics will be held Aug. 28-Sept. 8 in Paris.