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[08/04/12 - 12:56 PM]
Through First Week, London Olympics Sets Viewership Records
NBC spins the numbers for Friday, August 3 and its coverage to date.

[via press release from NBC]

THROUGH FIRST WEEK, LONDON OLYMPICS SETS VIEWERSHIP RECORDS

EACH OF THE FIRST 8 NIGHTS OF THE LONDON OLYMPICS HAS BEEN WATCHED BY AT LEAST 28.5 MILLION VIEWERS, A FIRST IN THE HISTORY OF THE SUMMER OLYMPICS

Through 8 Days 189 Million People Have Watched the Olympics on the Networks of NBCUniversal

34.5 Million Average Viewership and 19.2 Household Rating for the First 8 Nights of the London Olympics is Most for any Non-U.S. Summer Olympics in 36 Years

Weekday Daytime Show Averages 7.7 Million Viewers Through 5 Days, Best Ever for a Non-U.S. Summer Olympics

Late Night Show Averages 6.9 Million Viewers Through 7 Nights, Best for a Non-U.S. Summer Olympics in 24 Years

28.5 Million Average Viewership and 16.2 Household Rating Last Night is 8th Straight Night of Higher Viewership and Rating vs. 2008 Beijing Olympics

LONDON - August 4, 2012 - Through the first eight nights, the London Olympics has set viewership records on NBC. Each night of the 2012 London Olympics to-date has drawn 28.5 million viewers or more for the first time in the history of televised Summer Olympics (Rome 1960); 34.5 million average viewership through last night is the most for the first eight nights of any non-U.S. Summer Olympics in 36 years; the weekday daytime has posted the best viewership ever for a non-U.S. Summer Olympics (in Nielsen people meter history, 1987); and the late night show has posted the best viewership in 24 years, according to official national data provided by The Nielsen Company.

Beginning with the 40.7 million average viewership for the Opening Ceremony - the most-watched Opening Ceremony in televised Summer Olympics history - NBC has drawn at least 28.5 million viewers for each night in primetime. This marks the first time in the history of televised Summer Olympics that each of the first eight nights achieved such high viewership.

· Additionally, six nights of the London Olympics have drawn more than 30 million viewers, more than the entire 2008 Beijing Olympics (5) or 2004 Athens Olympics (2).

VIEWERSHIP FOR EACH NIGHT OF THE LONDON OLYMPICS TO DATE:

Through the first eight nights of the London Olympics, NBC is averaging 34.5 million viewers, the most of any non-U.S. Summer Olympics since the 1976 Montreal Olympics. The 34.5 million is 4.4 million more viewers than Beijing (30.1 million) and nearly eight million more than Athens (26.6 million).

Fri. July 27 40.7 million
Sat. July 28 28.7 million
Sun. July 29 36.0 million
Mon. July 30 31.6 million
Tues. July 31 38.7 million
Wed. Aug 1 30.8 million
Thurs. Aug 2 36.8 million
Fri. Aug 3 28.5 million

PRIMETIME VIEWERSHIP AND HOUSEHOLD RATING:

· Through eight days, 189 million people have watched the Olympics on the networks of NBCUniversal, four million more than Beijing through the same time period. The 2008 Beijing Games hold the record for the most-watched event in U.S. television history with 215 million viewers.

The eight-night average household rating of 19.2/32 is the best for any non-U.S. Summer Olympics since the 1976 Montreal Olympics. The 19.2/32 is 10% higher than the first eight nights from Beijing (17.4/30), and 20% higher than the first eight nights from Athens (16.0/28), the last European Summer Olympics.

DAYTIME:

NBC's five weekday daytime broadcasts have averaged 7.7 million viewers, the most for a non-U.S. Summer Olympics ever. The 7.7 million is 31% ahead of Beijing (5.9 million) and 38% higher than Athens (5.6 million).

During the first weekend of the London Olympics, the daytime afternoon show (noon-6 p.m. ET) averaged 15.4 million viewers, the daytime morning show (9:50 a.m. - Noon) averaged 12.5 million viewers.

LATE NIGHT:

NBC's seven late night broadcasts have averaged 6.9 million viewers, the most for a non-U.S. Summer Olympics since Seoul in 1988 when much of the late night coverage included live competition. The 6.9 million viewers is 28% ahead of Beijing (5.4 million) and 30% higher than Athens (5.3 million).

# # #

LAST NIGHT (FRIDAY 8/3):

Last night's coverage, which featured Michael Phelps' 21st career Olympic medal (gold in the 100m butterfly), Missy Franklin winning gold in the 200m backstroke, and Katie Ledecky winning gold in the 800m freestyle, drew 28.5 million viewers, up 9% from the comparable night in Beijing (26.1 million) and up 20% from the comparable night in Athens (23.7 million), the last European Summer Olympics.

Last night's primetime coverage on NBC (8:30-11:09 p.m. ET/PT) earned a 16.2/29 national rating/share, 5% higher than the comparable night in Beijing (15.4/28), and 13% higher than the comparable night in Athens in 2004 (14.4/27).

EIGHT-NIGHT METERED MARKET AVERAGE:
1. Salt Lake City 27.4/48
2. Milwaukee 25.2/42
3. Kansas City 25.1/42
4. Denver 24.8/47
5. Columbus 24.1/40
6. Norfolk 24.0/37
7. Indianapolis 23.9/41
8. San Diego 23.7/42
9. Richmond 23.0/37
T10. Minneapolis 22.5/42
T10. West Palm Beach 22.5/37
T10. Albuquerque 22.5/37
T13. Washington, D.C. 22.1/40
T13. Austin 22.1/39
T15. St. Louis 21.8/36
T15. Oklahoma City 21.8/35
T17. Portland 21.7/44
T17. Nashville 21.7/34
T17. Ft. Myers 21.7/39
20. Sacramento 21.5/40

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





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