Beijing Games Break U.S. Audience Records

NEW YORK, August 28: NBC
Universal’s coverage of the Beijing Olympics has become the most-viewed event
in American TV history, reaching a total audience of 214 million, surpassing
the previous record set by the 1996 games in Atlanta.

This summer’s games top
the 1996 event by 5 million viewers, and surpass 2004’s Athens Olympics by 11
million viewers. The Beijing games averaged 27.7 million viewers and scored a
17-day rating of 16.2 and a 28-percent share. Sunday night's closing ceremony
had the best rating for any Summer Olympics closing ceremony outside the U.S.
since Montreal in 1976, with 27.8 million average viewers, a 15.5 rating and 25
share.

"This audience record
is something I thought I'd never see again, but what really satisfied me is the
way in which these Olympics truly captivated and seemed to inspire our
country," said Dick Ebersol, the chairman of NBC Universal Sports &
Olympics and executive producer of NBC Universal's Beijing coverage. "For
me, the greatest measure of success at an Olympics is the number of messages I
receive from parents of young kids who have fallen in love with the Olympics.
That child means more to me than anything because I think a love affair with
the Olympics is the greatest in all of sports."

The coverage also
propelled NBC to the top spot against its competitors. On each of the 17 nights
of the games, NBC enjoyed a 244-percent (or greater) lead over the nearest
broadcast network in the adult 18 to 49 demographic, a 225-percent (or greater)
gain in total viewers and 200 or larger percent in household rating.

NBCU also hailed the
“halo” effect of the games, which drove gains across its various properties. Today, for example, saw a ratings boost, as did Nightly
News. The cable networks airing
Olympics coverage also benefited, drawing a total of 88 million viewers. CNBC,
MSNBC, USA and Oxygen all delivered audience increases across key demos. On
NBCOlympics.com, meanwhile, there were 75.5 million video streams, 51.9 million
unique users, 1.24 billion page videos and a total of 9.9 million hours of
video consumed.

—By Mansha Daswani