In his opening keynote appearance at the inaugural LiveFronts, a streaming-centric conference organized by Brave Media, NBC Olympics executive producer Jim Bell said just 3% of viewing of the Rio Games last summer came via digital platforms.

The number "shocked" Bell.

"It simultaneously confused and pleased me," he said. "Like, 'We're still here. Linear!'"

Heading into Rio, Bell said he had expected the digital share to be more like 25%. Going forward, "It's definitely going to shift" toward digital. Nevertheless, on a revenue basis, the broadcast network still accounts for about 75% of all money the company makes on the Games, he added.

Read more at broadcastingcable.com.

The Summer Olympics in Rio dominated TV-related social media posts on Facebook and Twitter Tuesday night (Aug. 16) with more than 3 million uniques, according to Nielsen Social.

"Uniques" are defined as "social media accounts that have authored original content related to a linear TV episode or engaged with that content."

The Olympics aired was across six networks -- CNBC, MSNBC, NBC, NBC Universo, NBCSN, USA Network -- over several hours, with 3,410,000 Facebook uniques and 488,000 Twitter accounts.

In fact, sports (and faux sports) programming took three of the top four social spots, with the Red Sox and Orioles game on MLB Network placing third, with 102,000 uniques, and WWE Smackdown on USA placing fourth, with 87,000 uniques

Second for the night was Freeform's Pretty Little Liars, with 260,000 uniques.

NBC Olympics said it will produce 85 hours of virtual reality content – one sport per day – that will be delivered exclusively to authenticated users of Samsung Galaxy smartphones that are compatible with the Oculus-powered Samsung Gear VR headset.

NBC Olympics said that VR programming, to be captured by Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS), will include coverage of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, men’s basketball (including the semifinals and final), gymnastics, track and field, beach volleyball, diving, boxing, and fencing, as well as highlight packages for those sports.

Notably, all VR programming will be presented on delay, from August 6, the day after the Opening Ceremony, through August 22, the day after the Games conclude. That fare will be available only on via phones that work with the Gear VR, and will accessible via a VR content section within the NBC Sports TV Everywhere app.

“The world’s greatest sporting event is always a showcase for cutting edge technology, and we’re thrilled to partner with Samsung and OBS to bring our viewers even closer to compelling Olympic action with virtual reality,” Gary Zenkel, president, NBC Olympics, said in a statement.” “Olympic fans can be transported to iconic venues such as Maracana Stadium for an unprecedented view of the Opening Ceremony, and Copacabana Beach for an immersive beach volleyball experience in the sport’s ultimate setting.”

“Fans of the Olympics will now get to experience the world’s best athletes as they compete in some of the most popular events of Rio 2016 in a whole new way: through virtual reality,” said Marc Mathieu, chief marketing officer at Samsung Electronics America, added.

Samsung’s Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 edge, Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 edge, Galaxy S6 edge+ and Galaxy Note5 phones are compatible with the Samsung Gear VR.

NBCUniversal announced Tuesday (June 28) that its networks and digital platforms will present 6,755 hours of programming from the Rio Games.  NBCU’s 11 linear networks will present more than 2,000 hours, and 4,500 hours of coverage will be streamed at NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports app, and powered by Playmaker Media, the live and on-demand streaming service recently launched by NBC Sports Digital. NBC Olympics also plans to offer 83 hours of coverage in 4K/Ultra HD on a one-day delay.

The official end of the fall-winter television season typically leads to a quieter, lighter summer for the industry. Thus far this year, though, events outside of the normal day-to-day business of TV have been anything but normal, and a couple of recent industry-related stories are already beginning to forecast what could be a very interesting and unusually busy summer in the world of television.

The presidential primary season has delivered its share of crazy twists and turns and unlikely scenarios that have driven ratings up for virtually all cable news networks. Just when you thought it couldn’t get any stranger or more unpredictable, presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders contemplated debating each other in a very high-profile event.

Hoping to get in on the action, boxing promoter Bob Arum looked to bring the spectacle to pay-per-view. Arum’s Top Rank event promotion company was willing to put up a minimum of $20 million — as well as donate 80% of the net proceeds from “The Heavyweight Debate” between the two presidential hopefuls to a charity or charities of the candidates’ choice — in an effort to promote the show.

Trump ultimately backed out of the proposed debate prior to Memorial Day weekend, but given his penchant for creating media spectacles, can anyone rule out a potentially big, politically-themed PPV event before voters head to the polls in November?

Meanwhile, HBO’s Game of Thrones is one of the most digitally pirated shows on cable, but recently the pay TV service has taken its GoT digital piracy fight to the world of online pornography.

HBO is trying to curtail the uploading of titillating, nudity-laced scenes from its fantasy series to the adult Web service PornHub, according to published reports.

PornHub itself released audience figures that show site searches for GoT scenes and related adult parodies were up 370% on the site in the days prior to the show’s April 24 season six premiere, but the site’s traffic actually drops 4% during a Game of Thrones episode.

For its part, HBO has said in a statement that it is “aware of the issue and is in the process of getting material taken down from PornHub,” according to Business Insider.

Even the world of sports TV isn’t immune to the potential effects of unforeseen developments. The New York Daily News reported last week that some NBC employees are refusing to travel to Brazil to work on NBCUniversal’s massive coverage of the Summer Olympics this August for fears of contracting the dangerous, mosquito-borne Zika virus.

Brazil is struggling to control the spread of the virus, which has been linked to birth defects in children of pregnant women contracting the disease. NBC is expected to send more than 2,000 staffers to Brazil to oversee the company’s unprecedented linear and digital coverage of the games.

An NBC spokesperson told The Daily News that “the safety of our team members is always our first priority,” and that “no NBC personnel assigned to work in Rio will be required to travel if they believe that their personal health or safety is at risk.”

Fasten your seat belts. It could be a bumpy, unconventional summer in TV land.

NBC Olympics said it will provide select coverage of the Rio Olympics in the eye-popping 4K format to its various cable, satellite TV and telco TV distribution partners.

NBC Olympics, a unit of NBC Sports Group, said that coverage, provided on a one-day delay, will include 4K/Ultra HD footage from the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as coverage of several events, including swimming, track and field, basketball, the men’s soccer final, judo, with some “Rio scenic” mixed in.

One event from the previous day’s competition will be provided daily from August 6, the day following the opening ceremony, through August 22, the day after the Rio Games conclude.

NBC’s 4K coverage of the summer games will raise the bar on what it provided during the 2014 Sochi Winter games. Corporate cousin Comcast, for example, held several viewing parties to demonstrate 4K using clips from the games provided by NBC Sports.

Notably, NBC Olympics said its 4K UHD coverage of the opening ceremony in Rio will also support High Dynamic Range (HDR), providing richer, brighter pixels, as well as Dolby Atmos, an immersive three-dimensional audio platform.

NBC Olympics said it will distribute the 4K UHD coverage provided by Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) and Japan’s NHK to U.S. distribution partners, who will individually choose how they will make the content available to their customers.

Among U.S. MVPDs, Comcast has already announced that it will start to ship the Xi5, its first HDR-capable box, on July 4, ensuring it will be available in time for the Rio games. The Xi6, which will also support 4K, is also in the works. DirecTV, now owned by AT&T, recently launched three 4K channels, including one dedicated to live events shot in the format. Dish Network began to distribute its new 4K-capable Hopper 3 DVR in February.  TiVo, meanwhile, is working on a 4K-HDR platform that is optimized for its MVPD partners.

The Olympics have been a consistent driver of technological advancements, and Rio will be no different,” Gary Zenkel, president of NBC Olympics, said in a statement. The stunning backdrop of Rio combined with the world-class competition of the Olympics will give the American audience a spectacular early look at this impressive new technology.”

“Since the London Games, OBS and NHK have been working together, experimenting on the future standard of 8K,” added Yiannis Exarchos, CEO of OBS. “Substantial recent technological advancements have allowed us to pursue this opportunity further for the Rio Games and to offer a 4K feed for a number of sports, down-converted from the original 8K, to NBC and other interested Rights Holding Broadcasters around the globe.”

According to a fresh forecast from Strategy Analytics, more than 11 million homes in North America will own an 4K/Ultra HD TV by the end of 2016.

For more details about the initiative, including the top tech challenges posed by it, please see Chris Tribbey’s expanded coverage at B&C.