Cool it on the NBC Olympic bashing. The network reported Thursday that its independent researchers are finding that people who know the results of London events before they are shown on tape delay are more – not less – likely to watch them.

Seems like NBC knows what it’s doing by tape-delaying marquee events like swimming and gymnastics for prime time’s big audience.

The findings from a survey conducted on Sunday:

• Two-thirds of people said they watch the prime-time Olympics telecast even if they know the results ahead of time.
• People who watched the events live earlier in the day via computer screen watched the tape-delayed broadcast 50 percent longer than those who hadn’t.

To its surprise, NBC has been getting far better ratings for the London Games than it expected, outpacing the 2008 Games in Beijing. A month ago, NBC had predicted it would lose some $200 million on the games, but network executives said Wednesday the company would break even… or make money if the strong ratings continue.