Kia ora, Talofa, Ma’lelei, Bula, Aloha and Welcome to Season 10 Episode 44 of Breakfast Bites, by TEIVOVOdigital.com – a wrap of Pasifika people’s sports news, on Wednesday morning 14 August 2024.
 
Coming to you with tons of hanisi from the 180th meridian, in the middle of the blue continent, where it is mostly cloudy and 21 degrees Celsius again at 5am this morning.
 
Was the Paris Olympic Games 2024 the best ever?
 
Absolutely, for NBC Sports and parent companies NBCUniversal and Comcast. 

The entire 17-day Paris Olympics averaged 30.6 million viewers in the US on NBCU platforms, a whopping 82% above the 2021 Tokyo Games that were delayed and marred by COVID-19. 

NBCU’s total audience delivery for the Paris Olympics represent a huge lift for both the network and the Olympics more broadly, and are a critical indicator of the elevated buzz the event enjoyed. 

New Orleans led all local US markets in Paris Olympics viewership, followed by several other smaller markets including West Palm Beach, Florida, Tulsa, Oklahoma and Dayton, Ohio. 

A key factor in the increased viewership for the Paris Olympics was NBCU’s Peacock streaming service, which delivered 23.5 billion minutes of streaming coverage on NBCU platforms, up 40% from all prior Summer and Winter Olympics combined.

The next goal for NBC Sports, NBCU and Comcast will be to convert that large-scale streaming audience and consumption into retained, paying customers.

In Rugby Union: After extensive consultation with World Rugby’s six Regional Associations, the Rugby World Cup 2027 in Australia will be expanded from 20 to 24 teams.

With 12 teams – France, New Zealand, Italy, Ireland, Champions South Africa, Scotland, Wales, Fiji, Australia, England, Argentina and Japan –  qualifyong directly by finishing Top 3 in their pool at

RWC2023 France, the balance 12 teams will be determined via the RWC2027 global qualification process as follows:
    Pacific x 3 - Pacific Nations Cup 2025 top three teams from Samoa, Tonga, USA and Canada minus Fiji and Japan already qualified.
    Europe Top 4 from the Rugby Europe Championship 2025
    Africa x 1 - Rugby Africa Cup 2025 champion
    Asia x 1 - Asia Rugby Men’s Championship 2025 champion
    South America x 1 - Sudamerica Rugby Championship 2025 champion
    South America / Pacific Play-off x 1
    Final Qualification Tournament x 1

In Sportsbiz: Under Armour’s revenue dropped 10% to US$1.2Billion, but that was US$40Million higher than anticipated.

Apparel was down 8% to US$758M, while footwear fell 15% to US$310M for a net loss of US$305M for the quarter.

In Rugby League BREAKING NEWS: Saint George Dragons five-eighth, Kyle Flanagan will miss the rest of the NRL season after he was found guilty of biting Bulldogs skipper Stephen Crichton and banned for four games at a marathon hearing at the NRL judiciary last night.

NRL counsel suggested a 4-6 game ban while the defence said anything more than two games would be excessive, saying the incident wasn’t as serious as Jack Wighton’s three-match biting ban last year.

In Football: Chelsea has gone nuts with their cheque book again, splashing out on their ninth player of the current transfer window, agreeing a US$69.6Million deal for Pedro Neto from Wolves, and are also chasing signing striker Samu Omorodion from Atlético Madrid as well.

In boxing: Move over Gal - Cronulla Shark’s A$4Million recruit, Tongan enforcer Addin Fonua-Blake is tipped to be Australia’s next big crossover star – with his UFC coach saying the prop “smashes everyone”.

Already ranked among the NRL’s toughest players, Fonua-Blake is now being sounded out for a potential appearance in the squared circle later this year. 

And that’s a wrap!
 
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Mahalo and Ka kite; for TEIVOVOdigital.com, I’m Culden Kamea tanking you all too mass for all your love and support.
 
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