Setting A Blistering Pace

NBC Saturday night -- for the first time during the London Games -- drew a smaller primetime audience than it did for the same night during the '08 Beijing Games. The net finished with a 15.9 final rating and 28.0 million viewers for coverage featuring U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps’ final Olympic swim. Those figures are both down 11% from a 17.8 rating and 31.6 million viewers on the comparable night in ’08, which had live coverage of Phelps winning his record-setting eighth Gold Medal in Beijing, as well as Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt winning a Gold Medal in the 100 meters. Saturday night’s coverage also was the smallest audience of the London Games to date. NBC remains on track to deliver the highest rated, non-U.S. Olymp ...