Marketing Report London 2012 - International Olympic Committee

36 Chapter Three / BROADCASTING
North America
In the USA, 219.4 million viewers watched coverage of London 2012 on NBC Universal’s networks,
making the Games the most-watched television event in American history – surpassing the 215
million viewers who tuned in to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
NBC Universal presented an unprecedented 5,535 hours of London 2012 coverage across its
networks – including NBCOlympics.com, two specialty channels and the first-ever 3D platform –
far exceededing coverage of Beijing 2008 by nearly 2,000 hours.
Over the course of the Games, NBC averaged 31.1 million primetime viewers, making London 2012
the most-watched non-US summer Games in primetime since Montreal in 1976 – topping Beijing by
12% and Athens by 26%.
NBC’s coverage of London 2012 also proved hugely popular with young people. Overall viewership
for teenage girls, aged 12-17, was up 54% compared to Beijing 2008, while overall viewership among
teenagers as a whole was up 29%. In total, teen viewership of the London Games was more than
six times higher than traditional broadcast viewing habits and ratings among teen girls for the
Games were more than double the equivalent ratings for the highest primetime shows on other
broadcast networks.
NBC Olympics Digital also set multiple records during the Games, serving 159.3 million video
streams – more than double the figure it served during Beijing 2008. NBCOlympics.com also received
1.9 billion page views – 650 million more than Beijing 2008.
Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium also delivered record Olympic coverage, with more
than 5,550 hours available to viewers. An incredible 31.9 million Canadians, or 95% of the population,
watched some coverage on Consortium channels from the start of London 2012, with viewing figures
up a remarkable 88% over Beijing 2008.
The average Canadian viewer watched almost 21 hours of content during London 2012 and the
Closing ceremony was the most-watched Summer Olympic Games broadcast on record in Canada.
A total of 3.4 million hours of content was also viewed at CTVOlympics.ca and RDSolympiques.ca.