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Through 16 days, 31.1 million average primetime viewership for London Olympics on NBC is best for non-U.S. Summer Olympics in 36 years

by jmaloni
Mon, Aug 13th 2012 10:25 am

31.1 million average viewership through Saturday tops Beijing by 12 percent and Athens by 25 percent

Through 16 days, the London Olympics has averaged 31.1 million viewers in primetime, making it the most-watched non-U.S. Summer Olympics since the Montreal Olympics in 1976.

•The 16-day average primetime viewership of 31.1 million is up 12 percent from the first 16 nights from the 2008 Beijing Olympics (27.7 million) and up 25 percent from the first 16 nights from the 2004 Athens Olympics (24.9 million).

•The 16-night average household rating of 17.6/30 is 9 percent higher than the first 16 nights from Beijing (16.2/28), and 16 percent higher than the first 16 nights from Athens (15.2/27), the last European Summer Olympics.

Saturday night's primetime coverage of the London Olympics on NBC drew an average of 21.8 million viewers, the most-watched final Saturday of competition for a non-U.S. Summer Olympics since 1988 (Seoul). It marked the 15th time in 16 nights that the average viewership for the London Olympics surpassed the Beijing Olympics.

Saturday night's average viewership of 21.8 million topped the comparable night from the Beijing Olympics by 30 percent (16.8 million) and the Athens Olympics by 21 percent (18.0 million).

•The 30 percent margin over Beijing Saturday night marked the biggest viewership advantage for of any night of the London Olympics vs. Beijing.

Saturday night's primetime coverage on NBC (9 to 11:25 p.m.) earned a 12.6/23 national rating/share, the highest-rated final Saturday night of competition for a non-U.S. Summer Olympics since 1992 (Barcelona). The 12.6 rating is 22 percent higher than the comparable night from Beijing (10.3/19), and 14 percent higher than the comparable night from Athens (11.1/21), the last European Olympics.

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

1. Salt Lake City

25.1/45

2. Kansas City

22.6/38

3. Milwaukee

22.3/37

4. Denver

22.2/42

5. Columbus OH

22.0/37

6. Norfolk

21.3/33

7. Indianapolis

21.0/36

8. San Diego

20.9/37

T9. West Palm Beach

20.6/34

T9. Richmond

20.6/33

11. Albuquerque-Santa Fe

20.4/34

12. Portland, OR

20.2/42

T13. Minneapolis-St. Paul

19.9/38

T13. Oklahoma City

19.9/32

T15. Atlanta

19.7/32

T15. Washington

19.7/36

T15. Sacramento-Stockton

19.7/37

T15. Austin, TX

19.7/35

T19. San Francisco

19.5/39

T19. Nashville

19.5/31

21. Ft. Myers-Naples

19.4/35

22. St. Louis

19.0/32

23. Los Angeles

18.8/35

24. New Orleans

18.6/27

T25. Greensboro-High Point

18.4/29

T25. Tulsa

18.4/29

27. Knoxville

18.3/29

T28. Chicago

18.2/32

T28. Phoenix

18.2/31

T28. Cleveland

18.2/31

T31. New York

18.1/31

T31. Jacksonville

18.1/29

33. Louisville

18.0/30

34. Seattle-Tacoma

17.9/36

35. Orlando-Daytona Beach

17.8/31

36. Cincinnati

17.7/30

37. Philadelphia

17.5/29

38. Dallas-Ft. Worth

17.4/31

T39. San Antonio

17.3/27

T39. Memphis

17.3/27

T41. Detroit

17.2/29

T41. Baltimore

17.2/28

43. Pittsburgh

17.0/30

T44. Boston

16.7/31

T44. Houston

16.7/29

T44. Birmingham, Alabama

16.7/25

T47. Hartford-New Haven

16.6/28

T47. Las Vegas

16.6/29

T47. Buffalo

16.6/29

48. Greenville-Spartanburg

16.4/26

51. Miami-Ft. Lauderdale

16.1/27

52. Tampa-St. Petersburg

15.8/29

T53. Providence-New Bedford, RI

15.7/27

T53. Dayton

15.7/26

55. Raleigh-Durham

15.0/25

56. Charlotte

14.0/25

HIGHEST RATED BY TIME ZONE (THROUGH 16 DAYS):

Mountain

20.3/36

Pacific

19.0/36

Central

18.6/32

Eastern

17.8/30

 

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