NBC Breaking its Own Olympic Records

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).