NBC Sets Records for Olympic Coverage

MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP/Getty Images(LOS ANGELES) — NBC’s coverage of Friday’s opening ceremonies of the London Olympics averaged a record 40.7 million total viewers, according to the Nielsen Company, the Los Angeles Times reports.  The previous record was set at the 1996 Atlanta Games, which averaged 39.8 million viewers.

Friday’s night telecast averaged 17 percent more viewers than the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Games four years ago.

NBC’s first night of competition coverage on Saturday also set a record for viewers, 28.7 million, making it the most-watched opening night on record for a summer edition of the Olympics.  The audience was 20 percent larger than the first night of competition in Beijing in 2008 and 45 percent bigger than Athens in 2004.

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