Tuesday night’s primetime coverage of the London Olympics on NBC drew an average of 30.1 million viewers, the 11th time in 12 nights that the average viewership for the London Olympics surpassed the Beijing Olympics. This marks the eighth night that the primetime viewership for the London Olympics surpassed 30 million viewers, topping the combined total of the 2008 Beijing Olympics (five nights) and the 2004 Athens Olympics (two nights).
Last night’s coverage, which featured Aly Raisman taking the gold medal in the floor exercise, and Dawn Harper and Kellie Wells taking silver and bronze, respectively, in the women’s 100m hurdles, drew 30.1 million viewers, the best for the second Tuesday for a non-U.S. Summer Olympics since the Montreal Olympics in 1976.
· Last night’s viewership is up 11% from the comparable night at the Beijing Olympics (26.6 million) and up 20% from the comparable night at the Athens Olympics (25.0 million).
Last night’s primetime coverage on NBC (8-11:22 p.m. ET/PT) earned a 17.6/29 national rating/share, 8% higher than the comparable night from Beijing (16.3/27), and 12% higher than the comparable night from Athens (15.7/26), the last European Olympics.
FIRST 12 NIGHTS IN PRIMETIME – BEST VIEWERSHIP AND HOUSEHOLD RATING FOR NON-U.S. SUMMER GAMES IN 36 YEARS:
Through the first 12 days, the London Olympics has averaged 32.8 million viewers in primetime, and a household rating of 18.5/31, making it the most-watched and highest-rated non-U.S. Summer Olympics since the Montreal Olympics in 1976.
· The 12-day average primetime viewership of 32.8 million viewers is 3.4 million more viewers than the first 12 nights from Beijing (29.4 million) and 6.7 million more than the first 12 nights from Athens (26.1 million).
· The 12-night average household rating of 18.5/31 is 8% higher than the first 12 nights from Beijing (17.1/29), and 17% higher than the first 12 nights from Athens (15.8/27), the last European Summer Olympics.
HIGHEST RATED BY TIME ZONE (THROUGH 12 DAYS):
Mountain
21.7/38
Pacific
20.1/38
Central
20.0/34
Eastern
19.0/32
12-DAY METERED MARKET AVERAGE (ALL 56 METERED MARKETS):
1. Salt Lake City
26.5/47
2. Kansas City
24.3/40
3. Milwaukee
24.2/40
4. Denver
23.9/45
5. Columbus, OH
23.2/38
6. Norfolk
23.1/36
7. Indianapolis
22.5/38
8. San Diego
22.3/39
9. Richmond
22.0/35
10. West Palm Beach
21.9/36
11. Albuquerque-Santa Fe
21.5/36
12. Minneapolis-St. Paul
21.3/40
13. Washington
21.1/38
T14. Austin, TX
21.0/37
T14. Oklahoma City
21.0/34
T14. Portland, OR
21.0/43
17. Sacramento-Stockton
20.9/39
18. Ft. Myers-Naples
20.8/37
19. Atlanta
20.7/34
20. Nashville
20.6/32
21. St. Louis
20.5/34
22. San Francisco
20.4/41
T23. Los Angeles
19.8/36
T23. New Orleans
19.8/29
25. Chicago
19.7/35
T26. Phoenix
19.6/33
T26. Tulsa
19.6/31
28. Jacksonville
19.5/31
29. Cleveland
19.3/33
T30. Greensboro-High Point
19.2/31
T30. Knoxville
19.2/31
32. New York
19.1/32
T33. Baltimore
18.9/31
T33. Seattle-Tacoma
18.9/38
T35. Louisville
18.8/31
T35. Philadelphia
18.8/31
T37. Dallas-Ft. Worth
18.7/33
T37. Orlando-Daytona Beach
18.7/33
T39. Cincinnati
18.6/31
T39. Pittsburgh
18.6/32
41. Detroit
18.5/31
42. San Antonio
18.4/29
43. Memphis
18.3/28
44. Houston
18.1/31
45. Boston
18.0/34
46. Buffalo
17.7/31
T47. Birmingham
17.6/26
T47. Las Vegas
17.6/30
T49. Greenville-Spartanburg
17.5/28
T49. Hartford-New Haven
17.5/30
51. Miami-Ft. Lauderdale
17.0/28
T52. Providence-New Bedford, RI
16.8/29
T52. Tampa-St. Petersburg
16.8/30
54. Dayton
16.6/27
55. Raleigh-Durham
16.0/26
56. Charlotte
14.6/26
(source: NBC)