London 2012 preparations ahead of last three Games

[Fiona]

Preparations for the 2012 London Olympics are further advanced now than they were at a similar stage before the last three summer Games, the president of NBC sports Dick Ebersol said on Friday

"From seven years out it's definitely ahead of the last three Games at this point," Ebersol told reporters at the conclusion of a visit to the 2012 sites. Atlanta staged the 1996 Games followed by Sydney in 2000 and Athens last year.

NBC holds the U.S. broadcast rights for the Games which were awarded to London ahead of favorites Paris in Singapore this year.

Earlier Ebersol told a meeting of the British Olympic Association that British athletes needed to be successful to ensure the success of the Games.

"Your teams have to be ready to compete for medals," he said.

He also suggested scheduling events in which Britain had medals chances near the start of the Games program.

"Some people might call it cheating, I call it smart," he said.

At an informal news conference Ebersol said London's range of historic landmarks had helped make it the most attractive of the bidding cities for his network.

"You can't go for any three or four blocks downtown without running in to an icon, whether it be Trafalgar Square, or the Horseguards Parade, Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park, Wimbledon, Wembley," he said.

"There's no other place like that. Everything is almost instantly identifiable."

Ebersol said because of the time difference with Europe, NBC would concentrate its coverage on a delayed nightly bulletin for prime time U.S. audiences.

"There will be no 100 meters at three a.m.," he said.

Ebersol said advertisers also preferred a packaged product so they could determine their ratings.

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