If you watched any of the Beijing 2008 Olympics, and I’m guessing you did, then you were part of television history. Exciting, I know. Don’t hold your breath on NBC sending you a cut of the massive ad sales as a thank-you though.

We watched plenty of the games, though mostly the swimming and beach volleyball. These were definitely some exciting Olympics and I’m not surprised at all that so many other people tuned in to watch.

Through 16 days, the Beijing Games delivered 211 million viewers across the various platforms of NBC Universal (NBC, USA, Oxygen, MSNBC and NBC). Beijing surpassed the Atlanta Summer Games, which set the viewing record with 209 million viewers over 17 days in 1996.

The prime-time coverage Saturday on NBC averaged 16.5 million viewers, NBC said. The comparable night in Athens four years ago had averaged 18 million. NBC said that 43 million viewers watched at least six minutes Saturday night from Beijing.

NBC definitely got the formula right this time by keep the boring bio segments to a minimum and making so many more events watchable. Spreading coverage over a half dozen channels didn’t hurt their numbers either.

Source: Orlando Sentinel