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
[10/28/25 - 02:07 PM]
"Sunday Night Football" on Record Pace Through Week 8, Averaging 24.7 Million Viewers on NBC and Peacock
Packers-Steelers audience peaked at 28.2 million viewers on NBC and Peacock in the second quarter (9:15-9:30 p.m. ET).

[10/28/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of October 20 - "A House of Dynamite" Hits the Target at No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
Plus: "Nobody Wants This," "The Elixir," and "The Monster of Florence" rise to the top in their opening weekends.

[10/27/25 - 12:03 PM]
Second-Most Viewed NBA Opening Week on ESPN Since 2014; "Inside the NBA" Averaged 1M Viewers in Its Opening Week Debut on ESPN
Last week's NBA coverage averaged 2.2 million viewers.

[10/24/25 - 02:54 PM]
ESPN's Third-Most Watched NBA Season-Opening Wednesday Ever
The two-game slate averaged 2.33 million viewers, up 44 percent from last year.

[10/24/25 - 02:02 PM]
"20/20" Is Friday's Most-Watched Newsmagazine Across the Board
In addition, "20/20" posted its best Adults 25-54 in more than four months.

[10/24/25 - 02:01 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 Across the Board, Leading NBC in All Key Demos for the 4th Straight Week
"Nightline" grew year to year across the board: Total Viewers, Adults 25-54, and Adults 18-49.

[10/24/25 - 01:05 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Makes Television History - Rising for Fifth Straight Week
The October 21 episode scored 6.63 million Total Viewers and a 1.38 rating among Adults 18-49, hitting new season highs in both demographics.

[10/23/25 - 02:33 PM]
Largest Audience for "NBA Tip-Off" Doubleheader Since 2010 as NBA Returned to NBC and Debuted on Peacock
Tuesday night's audience across NBC and Peacock peaked at 7.1 million viewers from 10:45-11 p.m. ET as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder to a one-point win over the Houston Rockets in double overtime.

[10/23/25 - 11:28 AM]
"High Potential" Rises to Season High as Show Nears Fall Finale
ABC's popular drama rose to a multiplatform season high in Total Viewers (12.50 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.31 rating) after seven days of viewing on ABC, Hulu, Hulu on Disney+ and digital platforms.

[10/22/25 - 03:06 PM]
FOX Sports Delivers Most-Watched ALCS Game Since 2017
9,028,000 viewers tuned in across FOX, FS1, FOX Deportes & FOX Sports streaming services for the Toronto Blue Jays' ALCS Game 7 victory over the Seattle Mariners.

[10/22/25 - 08:07 AM]
ESPN College Football on ABC Delivers Top Three Games Across All Networks for Saturday, Oct. 18 - Off to Best Start Since '09
Coverage of Ole Miss at Georgia averaged 9.8 million viewers.

[10/22/25 - 08:03 AM]
FOX NFL's America's Game of the Week Delivers 25,630,000 Average Viewers for Commanders-Cowboys
Season-to-date, the NFL on FOX is off to its best start to the season since 2014, averaging 19,646,000 viewers and up +4% over last year's season-to-date average.

[10/22/25 - 07:44 AM]
"9-1-1: Nashville" Debuts with Over 12 Million Total Audience to Date
The star-studded, high-octane first-responder drama delivered 7.80 million Total Viewers and 1.51 rating among Adults 18-49, excluding encores.

[10/22/25 - 06:21 AM]
ABC's Telecast of Formula 1 U.S. Grand Prix Draws Event's Largest TV Audience on Record
Viewership peaked at 1.6 million between 4:15-4:30 p.m. as Max Verstappen drove to victory, further tightening up the battle for the F1 driver's championship with only five races left in the season.

[10/21/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of October 13: "The Woman in Cabin 10" Sails Smoothly to No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
In the final stretch to Halloween, those lured in by the story of the OG horror villain put "Monster: The Ed Gein Story" at No. 1 on the English TV list with 9.5 million views.