Usain Bolt, the world's fastest man and indisputably one of the great athletes of all-time, won the Olympic 100-meterdash for an unprecedented third straight time Sunday night.In the United States, the event was aired live on the East Coast during a primetime Sunday night slot.For NBC, Bolt's run was the pinnacleof its Olympic coverage. This was one ofthe world's best athletes, in the world's most exciting event, on the world's biggest stage, on live television.This is why NBC pays billions to air the games: to bring you Usain Bolt. Live.And for reasons that go beyond Bolt's impending retirement, this event marked the end of an era for NBC's Olympic coverage.Sunday nightis some of the most valuable television real estate out there and a slot NBC dominates during the NFL football season.As the traditional cable bundle begins to fall apart, live eventssports, award shows, etc.are fast becoming the premier events for networks like NBC, CBS, and ABC.Because whereas almost any kind of traditional televisions programming has been upended in its own waythe news by the internet, sitcoms and dramas by DVR and other on-demand offeringslive events still require those who want to see the show to watch itat the same time.This makes a live event a scarce and dwindling commodity in the media business. And while live events have the potential to be flopsthink of a bad Super Bowl or a bad year of movies for the Oscarswhen these events deliver they remind viewers, networks, and advertisers why this is the best real estate in media.There is simply nothing better than the live drama of Bolt's run on Sundaynight.Andwith the Rio games taking place just one hour ahead of the New York market, these games have been an amazing opportunity for NBC to air livesporting events, to air the best thing any network could show a viewer.But the Rio games, however, are very much the end of an era for NBC.So far, ratings for Riohave been down from London, though NBC's many online offerings (as I write this I'm watching Monday morning's track session online, a view that isn't going to be picked up in Nielsen's rating) have made these numbers tough to compare.Regardless of where the ratings shake out, NBC is certainly treating their broadcast of the games in a largely traditional fashion. The opening ceremonies weretape-delayed, gymnastics has beentape-delayed, and the overallbroadcast is as much about pushing a pre-cooked narrative as it is about reacting to what happens in competition.Comparing the habits of television viewers and news consumers from, say, 2004 to today is to see a radical shift in the media business.In 2004, there was no social media, no smartphones, andnewspapers still reigned supreme over news on the internet. Today, of course, all of this has flipped. Newspapers are a relic, live television is dying, information is instantaneously disseminated across platforms.And the paceof change from2004 to 2008, from 2008 to 2012, from 2012 to 2016has not been linear.Looking out to the 2020 and 2024 games, NBC thus faces what will likely be an even more radically altered media environment. The platforms on which people consume media seemlikely to be even more fractured four and eight years out.In addition to the changinghabits and technology that face NBC in upcoming Olympics, the Tokyo games pose a very obvious challenge for the network: time change.Tokyo is 13 hours ahead of New York. Surely many viewers will watch premier eventsgymnastics, swimming, and trackeither on tape delay or live while at work. But the organic and obvious experience of millions of Americans turning on their televisions to seethat it's time for the spectacle that is Usain Bolt, however, will not be back.This is one part about Bolt's impending retirement, one part about the time issues that NBC faces in Tokyo, and one part about how the media landscape is likely to change further for NBC.On Sunday night, Bolt's run served as one of the great sporting and media moments of the last several years. Social media networks were aflame after Bolt's run. NBC's coverage captured the drama perfectly. And Bolt's braggadocio carried the moment as only he can.And by the time the next Bolt comes around, all of this will have changed.SEE ALSO:Bolt smiles across the finishDON'T MISS:Here's how each country is doing at the OlympicsJoin the conversation about this storyNOW WATCH: Couples improved their sex lives in a week with this one simple tip
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