NEW YORK – August 14, 2012 – In the final week of the London 2012 Olympic Games, “NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams’” drew a larger total audience and wider advantage over ABC than the comparable week of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

According to Nielsen Media Research data, the NBC weeknight broadcast August 6 - 10, 2012 delivered an average of 9.775 million total viewers, +3,000,000 more than ABC "World News’" 6.775 million, and +4,392,000 more than CBS "Evening News’” 5.383 million.

Saturday Nightly (August 11, 2012) delivered 7.972 million total viewers, +3,483,000 more than World News Saturday.

Sunday Nightly (August 12, 2012) Sunday Nightly delivered 10.374 million total viewers, +5,243,000 (+102%) ahead of World News Sunday. This also marks 4.081 million viewers over the same night’s CBS 60 Minutes, featuring Bob Schieffer’s interview with Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan (6.293 million total viewers).

“NBC Nightly News” Total Viewers (Monday-Friday), as Brian Williams anchored from London:

• Nightly delivered 9.775 million total viewers, +3,000,000 (+44%) more than ABC World News and +4,392,000 (+82%) more than CBS Evening News.
• Nightly has won for 152 consecutive weeks, and in 199 of the past 200 weeks in total viewers.
• Versus week #2 (8/18-8/22/08) of the Beijing Olympics, Nightly was up in homes (+6%) and total viewers (+9% or +826,000).
• Nightly’s +3 million total viewer advantage over World News is up from a +2,060,000 advantage during the comparable week #2 in Beijing, and up from a +2,416,000 advantage (+32%) during the comparable week #2 in Athens.
• Both ABC World News and CBS Evening News had their lowest total viewer deliveries since the week of June 4, 2012.
• Season-to-date, Nightly leads World News by +1,096,000 total viewers.

“NBC Nightly News” A25-54 (Monday-Friday):

• Nightly delivered a 2.4 A25-54 rating, 60% (+9 tenths) ahead of ABC’s 1.5 rating and +85% (+1.1 points) of CBS’s 1.3 rating.
• Among A25-54 (000), Nightly beat World News by +1,066,000 viewers.
• This is the 194th consecutive week Nightly has topped World News in A25-54 (000).
• Season-to-date, Nightly leads World News by +397,000 A25-54 viewers.

Saturday “NBC Nightly News,” as Brian Williams anchored from London:

• Saturday Nightly delivered 7.972 million total viewers, +3,483,000 (+78%) more than World News Saturday.
• Season-to-date, Sat Nightly leads World News Sat by +1,621,000 total viewers.
• Saturday Nightly delivered a 2.0 A25-54 rating, +1.3 points ahead of ABC’s 0.7 rating.
• In A25-54 (000), Saturday Nightly topped World News Saturday by +1,558,000 viewers.
• Season-to-date, Sat Nightly leads World News Sat by +547,000 A25-54 viewers.
• Versus the third Saturday (8/28/04) of the Athens Olympics, Sat Nightly was up in total viewers (+5% or +355,000). (There is no comparison to Beijing – the comparable Saturday was a low-coverage breakout)

Sunday “NBC Nightly News,” as Lester Holt anchored from London:

• Sunday Nightly delivered 10.374 million total viewers, +5,243,000 (+102%) ahead of World News Sunday.
• Sunday Nightly topped CBS 60 Minutes featuring Bob Schieffer’s interview with Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan by 4.081 million viewers – 10.374 million vs. 6.293 million.
• Season-to-date, Sun Nightly leads World News Sun by +1,154,000 total viewers.
• Sunday Nightly delivered a 3.1 A25-54 rating, +2 points ahead of ABC’s 1.1 rating.
• In A25-54 (000), Sunday Nightly topped World News Sunday by +2,403,000 viewers.
• Season-to-date, Sun Nightly leads World News Sun by +469,000 A25-54 viewers.
• Versus the third Sunday (8/24/08) of the Beijing Olympics, Sun Nightly was up in homes (+6%), total viewers (+9% or +862,000) and rating W/M/A25-54 (+28%/+7%/+19%).
• Versus the third Sunday (8/29/04) of the Athens Olympics, Sun Nightly was up in total viewers (+1% or +106,000).

Patrick Burkey is the executive producer of "NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams." Sam Singal is the executive producer of weekend editions of “NBC Nightly News.” For more news and information about "NBC Nightly News," go to www.nbcnightlynews.com.

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