LONDON – July 28, 2012 – NBC’s coverage of the 2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony from Olympic Stadium in London registered the best overnight rating (Winter or Summer) for a non-U.S. Olympic Opening Ceremony ever. The Opening Ceremony on NBC earned a 23.0 overnight rating and a 40 share (8-Midnight. ET/PT), according to data released today by The Nielsen Company.
Compared to Opening Ceremony overnight ratings for non-U.S. Olympics, the 23.0/40 is seven percent higher than the Opening Ceremony for the 2008 Beijing Olympics (21.5/37), 10 percent higher than the tabloid-fueled Lillehammer Games (21.0/34), and 15 percent higher than the Opening Ceremony for the 2010 Vancouver Games (20.0/33).
NON-U.S. OPENING CEREMONY OVERNIGHT RATINGS:
| 1. London - 2012 | 23.0/40 NBC |
| 2. Beijing – 2008 | 21.5/37 NBC |
| 3. Lillehammer – 1994 | 21.0/34 CBS |
| 4. Vancouver – 2010 | 20.0/33 NBC |
| 5. Nagano – 1998 | 18.6/30 CBS |
| 6. Sydney – 2000 | 18.5/32 NBC |
| 7. Seoul – 1988 | 18.3/33 NBC |
| 8. Athens – 2004 | 18.0/30 NBC |
| 9. Sarajevo – 1984 | 17.2/27 ABC |
| 10. Calgary – 1988 | 17.0/40 ABC |
| 11. Barcelona – 1992 | 16.5/32 NBC |
| 12. Albertville – 1992 | 16.0/26 CBS |
| 13. Torino – 2006 | 14.7/23 NBC |
OPENING CEREMONY OVERNIGHT RATINGS FOR U.S. GAMES:
| 1. Los Angeles – 1984 | 29.5/55 ABC |
| 2. Salt Lake City – 2002 | 27.9/43 NBC |
| 3. Atlanta – 1996 | 27.2/47 NBC |
TOP 20 METERED MARKETS FOR OPENING CEREMONY:
| 1. San Diego | 27.8/49 |
| T2. Washington D.C. | 26.8/48 |
| T2. West Palm Beach | 26.8/48 |
| 4. Salt Lake City | 26.6/50 |
| 5. Denver | 26.4/51 |
| 6. Norfolk | 26.3/42 |
| 7. Sacramento | 25.4/47 |
| T8. Kansas City | 25.0/44 |
| T8. Richmond | 25.0/41 |
| 10. Columbus | 24.9/43 |
| T11. Boston | 24.8/45 |
| T11. Indianapolis | 24.8/45 |
| 13. Seattle | 24.4/48 |
| 14. Los Angeles | 24.2/44 |
| 15. Atlanta | 24.1/39 |
| T16. Philadelphia | 24.0/40 |
| T16. Jacksonville | 24.0/40 |
| T18. Austin | 23.9/44 |
| T18. Ft. Myers | 23.9/44 |
| 20. Portland | 23.8/48 |
Jim Bell served as executive producer of NBC’s Opening Ceremony coverage; Bucky Gunts, director; Molly Solomon and Joe Gesue producers.
NBCUniversal, presenting its 13th 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, please go to: NBCOlympics.com
For press information, bios, photos and releases, please go to: NBCSportsGroupPressBox.com
--NBC OLYMPICS--
