Olympics: Team USA Soccer gold medal match most-watched event in history of NBC Sports Network

Average of 4.35 million watch Team USA's 2-1 victory over Japan on NBC Sports Network

More than 210 million total viewers for the London Olympics surpasses Total Viewership for Atlanta for second most-watched event in U.S. television history

Press release

Thursday's Team USA gold medal-winning soccer match against Japan drew 4.35 million viewers and had a national household rating of 2.74, the most-watched and highest-rated event ever on NBC Sports Network. Additionally, the match drew 1.467 million streams on NBCOlympics.com, the most-streamed event in Olympics history.

MOST-WATCHED EVENTS IN NBC SPORTS NETWORK HISTORY*

*NBC Sports Network was rebranded from VERSUS in Jan. 2012.

•With 1.467 million streams, the gold medal soccer match was the most-streamed event in Olympic history, topping the USA women's gymnastics all-around gold medal (1.463 million) and Usain Bolt winning the 100m race (1.289 million).

LONDON OLYMPICS NOW THE 2^nd MOST-WATCHED EVENT IN U.S. TELEVISION HISTORY: With 210.5 million total viewers, the total audience for the London Olympics surpassed the Atlanta Olympics (209 million) and now stands as the second most-watched event in U.S. television history behind only the Beijing Olympics (215 million).

THROUGH 14 NIGHTS IN PRIMETIME - BEST VIEWERSHIP AND HOUSEHOLD RATING FOR NON-U.S. SUMMER GAMES IN 36 YEARS:

Through the first 14 days, the London Olympics has averaged 31.9 million viewers in primetime, and a household rating of 18.0/30, making it the most-watched and highest-rated non-U.S. Summer Olympics since the Montreal Olympics in 1976.

•The 14-day average primetime viewership of 31.9 million viewers is 3.3 million more viewers than the first 14 nights from Beijing (28.6 million) and 6.2 million more than the first 14 nights from Athens (25.7 million).

•The 14-night average household rating of 18.0/30 is 7 percent higher than the first 14 nights from Beijing (16.8/29), and 15 percent higher than the first 14 nights from Athens (15.6/27), the last European Summer Olympics.

Thursday night's primetime coverage of the London Olympics on NBC drew an average of 22.9 million viewers, the most-watched second Thursday for non-U.S. Summer Olympics since the 1992 Barcelona Olympics (23.7 million). Thursday night marked the 13^th time in 14 nights that the average viewership for the London Olympics surpassed the Beijing Olympics.

The coverage, which featured Ashton Eaton winning the gold medal in the decathlon, and Usain Bolt winning gold in the 200m for the second consecutive Olympics, drew 22.9 million viewers, topping the comparable night from the Beijing Olympics (22.4 million) and the Athens Olympics (21.5 million).

Thursday night's primetime coverage on NBC (8-11:11 p.m.) earned a 13.6/23 national rating/share, just 1 percent off the comparable night from Beijing (13.8/23), and Athens (13.8/24), the last European Olympics.

14-DAY METERED MARKET AVERAGE (ALL 56 METERED MARKETS):

HIGHEST RATED BY TIME ZONE (THROUGH 14 DAYS):

NBCUniversal, presenting its 13^th 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, visitNBCOlympics.com.