or


[07/29/12 - 12:39 PM]
NBC's First Night of Olympic Competition Is Most-Watched Summer Olympics Opening Night on Record
NBC spins the numbers for Saturday, July 28.

[via press release from NBC]

NBC'S FIRST NIGHT OF OLYMPIC COMPETITION IS MOST-WATCHED SUMMER OLYMPICS OPENING NIGHT ON RECORD

28.7 Million Average Viewers Tops First Night from Atlanta by More Than 2 Million Viewers; Nearly 5 Million More than Beijing; and Nearly 9 Million More than Athens, the Last European Olympics

NBC's two-day primetime average of 35.6 million viewers is the best start to a Summer Olympics on record

15.8/29 National Rating for First Night of Competition is 14% Higher than Beijing and 34% Higher than Athens; Best for Any Non-U.S. Summer Olympics Ever

NBC's Daytime and Late Night Rating and Viewership Enjoy Significant Gains

LONDON - July 29, 2012 - The first night of competition from the London Olympics (8:30-11:28 p.m. ET/PT) is the MOST-WATCHED for a Summer Games opening night on record, with 28.7 million average viewers, topping the first night of competition from the 1996 Atlanta Games by more than two million viewers (26.3 million). Last night's viewership is nearly five million more than the first night of the 2008 Beijing Olympics (24.0 million), and nearly nine million more than the first night of the 2004 Athens Olympics (19.8 million), the last European Olympics.

NBC's two-day primetime average of 35.6 million viewers is the best start to a Summer Olympics on record, more than two million more than Atlanta (33.3 million), and more than six million more viewers than Beijing (29.5 million).

Last night's competition on NBC, which featured the first duel between Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps, earned a 15.8/29 national rating/share, the best for a non-U.S. Summer Olympics opening night in 36 years since Montreal Olympics. The rating is 14 percent higher than the first night of the Beijing Olympics (13.9/27), which featured live coverage of Phelps' first of his eight gold medals.

· Last night's national rating of 15.8/29 is also 34 percent higher than the first night of competition in Athens in 2004 (11.8/23), the last European Olympics.

AVERAGE VIEWERS FOR 1st NIGHT OF COMPETITION (ALL SUMMER GAMES ON RECORD):
1. London - 2012 28.7 Million NBC
2. Atlanta - 1996 26.3 Million NBC
3. Beijing - 2008 24.0 Million NBC
4. Seoul - 1988 23.8 Million NBC
5. Barcelona - 1992 21.6 Million NBC
6. Sydney - 2000 21.0 Million NBC
7. Athens - 2004 19.8 Million NBC

NBC'S DAYTIME AND LATE NIGHT VIEWERSHIP SOARS:

· 9:46 a.m.-Noon ET/PT averaged 12.3 million viewers, an increase of 56% over the first Saturday morning at the Beijing Games (7.9 million from 10 a.m.-Noon). The household rating in this time period (7.9/22) is 49% higher than the comparable morning from Beijing (5.3/16).

· The Noon-6 p.m. ET/PT window drew 14.9 million viewers and a household rating of 9.3/23, an increase of 20% and 19%, respectively vs. Beijing Games.

· The early-morning window (5-9:46 a.m. ET/PT) drew 5.1 million viewers and had a household rating of 3.6/16. There is no comparable coverage for this time period in previous Games.

· The late night program (12:30-1:18 a.m. ET/PT) drew 7.4 million viewers and a household rating of 4.9/15, an increase of 35% and 29%, respectively.

TOP 20 METERED MARKETS FOR LAST NIGHT:
1. Salt Lake City 23.9/46
2. San Diego 22.8/43
3. Kansas City 22.4/42
4. Columbus 21.5/39
5. Ft. Myers 21.3/40
6. Milwaukee 20.6/38
7. Denver 20.5/44
8. Indianapolis 20.4/39
9. Sacramento 20.2/41
10. Nashville 19.6/34
11. Oklahoma City 19.2/32
12. St. Louis 18.9/35
13. Richmond 18.7/33
14. Portland 18.5/41
T15. San Francisco 18.4/40
T15. Boston 18.4/36
T17. Norfolk 18.3/30
T17. Albuquerque 18.3/34
T17. Jacksonville 18.3/31
20. Phoenix 18.1/32

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





  [july 2012]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S


· SHOWATCH
(series past and present)
· DEVWATCH
(series in development)
· MOVIEWATCH
(tv movies and mini-series)





most recent ratings | view all posts
[10/09/25 - 03:11 PM]
"Jimmy Kimmel Live" Tops Late-Night with Week of Live Shows from Brooklyn Academy of Music
Continuing the show's momentum this season, "Jimmy Kimmel Live" earned 2.20 million Total Viewers and a 0.22 rating among Adults 18-49, topping late-night for the week in both measures.

[10/09/25 - 01:00 PM]
NBC Wins First Two Weeks of the New TV Season and Sees Year-to-Year Growth
Across all platforms (7-day), "Law & Order" and "SVU" amassed 6 million and 7.6 million viewers, respectively, both showing an increase over last season's premieres.

[10/09/25 - 11:15 AM]
"20/20" Is Friday's No. 1 Newsmagazine in All Key Target Demos
"20/20" grew over its season premiere in Adults 25-54 (+2% - 392,000 vs. 386,000) to post its best news demo performance in nearly 4 months.

[10/09/25 - 10:59 AM]
ESPN Daytime Studio Shows Surge in September
ESPN's daily studio show lineup delivered audience increases across the board in September, as the fall sports season began in earnest.

[10/08/25 - 05:01 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49, Leading NBC's "Late Night with Seth Meyers" in All Key Demos for the 2nd Straight Week
On Monday (9/29/25), "Nightline" turned in its top Adults 18-49 telecast (346,000) in over 3 months.

[10/08/25 - 10:47 AM]
"The Girlfriend" Has Been Watched by Over 25 Million Viewers Worldwide
Amazon MGM Studios touted the news on social media this morning.

[10/07/25 - 03:52 PM]
FOX Sports' ALDS Coverage Up 14% Year-Over-Year Across FOX and FS1
3,187,000 viewers tuned in on average for the first four games of the 2025 ALDS across FOX and FS1.

[10/07/25 - 03:10 PM]
"College GameDay Built by The Home Depot" Delivers Second Most-Watched Regular Season Episode Ever; ESPN & ABC Score Three of Week 6's Top Four Games
ABC's telecast of Vanderbilt at Alabama on Saturday averaged 6.4 million viewers.

[10/07/25 - 02:54 PM]
College Football on FOX Scores Big in Week Six
In Week 6, "Big Noon Saturday" scored 4,627,000 viewers for Michigan's 24-10 win over Wisconsin on FOX - the most-watched noon game on any network.

[10/07/25 - 02:54 PM]
ESPN Scores Most-Watched Game 1 of the WNBA Finals in 28 Years
Coverage averaged 1.9 million viewers, up 62% from last year.

[10/07/25 - 02:40 PM]
"America's Game of the Week" on FOX Roars in Week 5 as Most-Watched Telecast of the Week on Any Network
20,333,000 average viewers on average tuned into the network for Week 5.

[10/07/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of September 29: "French Lover" Swoons at No. 1, "Monster: The Ed Gein Story" Chills in Top 10 Debut
Plus: "Wayward" reached No. 1 on the TV list for a second consecutive week, with 14.1 million views.

[10/06/25 - 10:04 AM]
ESPN Sets Multiple MLB Wild Card Series Viewership Records
ESPN networks averaged 4,625,000 viewers across 11 games, making it the most-watched Wild Card Series ever under the current format.

[10/03/25 - 02:46 PM]
With Largest Viewership in 7 Years, "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in All Key Demos for Season Premiere
"Nightline" drew its largest overall audience in nearly 2 years and delivered its strongest Adult 25-54 performance in 20 months.

[10/03/25 - 02:45 PM]
"20/20" Is Friday's No. 1 Newsmagazine in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49
"20/20" opened its new season with its strongest performance in Total Viewers (2.752 million) and Adults 25-54 (386,000) in over 3 months.