LONDON OLYMPICS POST 6TH STRAIGHT NIGHT OF VIEWERSHIP AND RATINGS GAINS OVER 2008 BEIJING GAMES

30.8 Million Viewers Last Night is 4th Straight Night of London Olympics with More than 30 Million Viewers, and 5th in 6 Nights

Viewership is Most for the First Wednesday for any Non-U.S. Summer Olympics in 36 Years

34.8 Million Average Viewers and a 19.3/32 Household Rating for the First 6 Nights of the London Olympics is Most for any Non-U.S. Summer Olympics in 36 Years

17.9 Household Rating Tops First Wednesday Night from Both Beijing and Athens

7.3 Million Watch NBC's Daytime Show; 6.3 Million Tune in to Late Night

LONDON - August 2, 2012 - Each night of the 2012 London Olympics to date have drawn higher viewership and household ratings than the first six nights of the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2004 Athens Olympics, the last European Summer Olympics, according to official national data provided by The Nielsen Company.

Last night's coverage, which featured two more gold medals in the pool for the U.S. (Nathan Adrian in the 100m freestyle and the women's 4x200m freestyle relay), and Danell Leyva taking bronze for the U.S. in the men's gymnastics all-around, drew 30.8 million viewers, the most-watched first Wednesday of any non-U.S. Summer Olympics in 36 years (Montreal 1976).

· The average viewership of 30.8 million is 3.1 million more than the first Wednesday of the Beijing Olympics (27.7 million viewers), and 2.4 million more than the first Wednesday of the Athens Olympics (28.4 million viewers).

· Through the first Wednesday of the London Olympics, NBC is averaging 34.8 million viewers, the most of any non-U.S. Summer Olympics since the 1976 Montreal Olympics. The 34.8 million is 4.0 million more viewers than Beijing (30.8 million) and 8.6 million more than Athens (26.2 million).

Last night's primetime coverage on NBC (8-11:26 p.m. ET/PT) earned a 17.9/30 national rating/share, seven percent higher than the first Wednesday night of the Beijing Olympics (16.7/28), and three percent higher than the first Wednesday night in Athens in 2004 (17.3/29), the last European Summer Olympics.

· The six-night average household rating of 19.3/32 is the highest for any non-U.S. Summer Olympics through the first Wednesday since the 1976 Montreal Olympics. The average rating is 10 percent higher than Beijing (17.6/30) and 23 percent higher than Athens (15.7/27).

NBC'S DAYTIME AND LATE NIGHT VIEWERSHIP SOARS:

· NBC's daytime coverage yesterday drew and average 7.3 million viewers and a household rating/share of 5.2/15 (10 a.m.-5p.m. ET/PT). There is no direct comparison to any past Olympics.

· For Beijing, the 10 a.m.-1 p.m. ET/PT daytime program drew an average of 6.0 million viewers and had a household rating/share of 4.4/14.

· In Athens, the 12:30-4 p.m. ET/PT program drew an average of 4.9 million viewers and had a household rating/share of 3.8/12.

· The late night program (12:40-1:25 a.m. ET/PT) drew 6.3 million viewers, 59% higher than the comparable night in Beijing (4.0 million). The household rating of 4.4/14 is 52% higher than the same night in Beijing (2.9/15).

SIX-NIGHT METERED MARKET AVERAGE:
1. Salt Lake City 27.3/48
2. Kansas City 25.4/42
3. Denver 25.2/47
4. Milwaukee 25.1/41
T5. San Diego 24.3/43
T5. Columbus 24.3/40
7. Indianapolis 24.2/41
T8. Norfolk 23.4/37
T8. Richmond 23.4/37
T10. West Palm Beach 22.7/38
T10. Albuquerque 22.7/37
T12. Minneapolis 22.5/42
T12. Oklahoma City 22.5/36
14. Washington 22.3/40
15. Austin 22.2/39
16. Nashville 22.0/34
T17. Sacramento 21.9/40
T17. St. Louis 21.9/36
T17. Portland 21.9/44
T17. Ft. Myers 21.9/39

NBCUniversal, presenting its 13th Olympics, the most by any U.S. media company, will make an unprecedented 5,535 hours of the 2012 London Olympics coverage available across NBC, NBC Sports Network, MSNBC, CNBC, Bravo, Telemundo, NBCOlympics.com, two specialty channels, and the first-ever 3D platform, an unprecedented level that surpasses the coverage of the 2008 Beijing Olympics by nearly 2,000 hours.

For the full schedule of NBCUniversal's Olympic coverage, please go to: NBCOlympics.com