Jeff Zucker was in Beijing's Water Cube aquatics centre to watch Michael Phelps win his eighth gold medal. "I've been to just about every major sporting event of the last 20 years and this was as exciting a moment as I've ever seen," NBC Universal's chief executive said on returning from the Olympic Games this weekend.

Mr Zucker's $1bn bet that China could pull off a successful Olympics has given him more than just privileged access, however.