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You mean London beat Beijing? Biggest-ever US audience flabbergasts NBC

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By Noel Young, Correspondent

August 14, 2012 | 3 min read

It's official then: The British Olympics just finished were, according to Nielsen figures just in , America's most-watched event in television history - much to the amazement of NBC who were showing the games.

Olympic surprise for NBC

NBC’s coverage of the 2012 London Summer Olympics drew 219.4 million total viewers, beating the Beijing Games by 4.4 million viewers, or 2 percent.

With a population of 311.6 million , that means more than two-thirds (70 percent) of all Americans watched at least part of the London Games. An average of 31.1 million viewers tuned in over 17 days.

NBC executives had projected a 20 percent decline from Beijing four years ago.

Alan Wurtzel, president of research and media development at NBC Universal said the network’s momentum was “extraordinary,” especially when one considers the advantages it enjoyed in Beijing.

“There was a certain aura surrounding Beijing that was really seductive [and] there were a lot of events that were live in prime-time,” Wurtzel said. “I don’t think anybody thought we would come close to Beijing.”

A month before the Opening Ceremony, Wurtzel said he believed NBC ultimately would reach around 200 million viewers.

While the cost of the average 30-second spot in prime time worked out to around $725,000, advertisers who "slipped in "after others had shouldered the risk were charged a premium.

Before the Games began, NBC had booked over $1 billion in ads , with another $300 million in affiliate and digital revenue on top of that . NBC is now expected to make a small profit from its $1.28 billion investment. It had expected a $200 million net loss.

Last word: Sunday night’s closing ceremony was the most-watched capper for a non-U.S. Olympics in 36 years. Nielsen said the Brit Pop finale averaged 31 million viewers and a 9.2 rating in the demo.

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