29.1 million average viewership on NBC is best second Wednesday for any Summer Olympics in 36 years

Wednesday night's primetime coverage of the London Olympics on NBC drew an average of 29.1 million viewers, the most-watched second Wednesday for any Summer Olympics since the 1976 Montreal Olympics, even topping the second Wednesday night from the Atlanta Olympics (28.9 million). Wednesday night marked the twelfth time in 13 nights that the average viewership for the London Olympics surpassed the Beijing Olympics.

Wednesday night's coverage, which featured Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings taking their third straight gold medal in beach volleyball; Allison Felix winning the gold medal in the 200m race; and Aries Merritt and Jason Richardson winning gold and silver, respectively, in the 110m hurdles, drew 29.1 million viewers, topping the comparable night from the Beijing Olympics by 17 percent (24.8 million) and the Athens Olympics by 20 percent (24.3 million). The viewership even topped the comparable night from the Atlanta Olympics (28.9 million).

The primetime coverage on NBC (8 to 11 p.m.) earned a 16.8/28 national rating/share, 11 percent higher than the comparable night from Beijing (15.2/26), and 10 percent higher than the comparable night from Athens (15.3/26), the last European Olympics.

FIRST 13 NIGHTS IN PRIMETIME - BEST VIEWERSHIP AND HOUSEHOLD RATING FOR NON-U.S. SUMMER GAMES IN 36 YEARS:

Through the first 13 days, the London Olympics has averaged 32.6 million viewers in primetime, and a household rating of 18.3/31, making it the most-watched and highest-rated non-U.S. Summer Olympics since the Montreal Olympics in 1976.

•The 13-day average primetime viewership of 32.6 million viewers is 3.6 million more viewers than the first 13 nights from Beijing (29.0 million) and 6.6 million more than the first 13 nights from Athens (26.0 million).

•The 13-night average household rating of 18.3/31 is 8 percent higher than the first 13 nights from Beijing (16.9/29), and 16 percent higher than the first 13 nights from Athens (15.8/27), the last European Summer Olympics.

NBC'S WEEKDAY COVERAGE UNDEFEATED VS. BEIJING:

NBC's weekday daytime show is averaging 7.3 million viewers (eight telecasts), up 33 percent from Beijing (5.5 million) and 38 percent from Athens (5.3 million).

•Each weekday telecast of the London Games has topped each comparable show from Beijing.

•The 5.2/15 household rating for the weekday daytime show is up 27 percent from Beijing (4.1/13) and up 30 percent from Athens (4.0/13).

13-DAY METERED MARKET AVERAGE (ALL 56 METERED MARKETS):

HIGHEST RATED BY TIME ZONE (THROUGH 13 DAYS):

NBCUniversal, presenting its 13^th Olympics, the most by any U.S. media company, will make an unprecedented 5,535 hours of the 2012 London Olympics coverage available across NBC, NBC Sports Network, MSNBC, CNBC, Bravo, Telemundo, NBCOlympics.com, two specialty channels, and the first-ever 3D platform, an unprecedented level that surpasses the coverage of the 2008 Beijing Olympics by nearly 2,000 hours.

For the full schedule of NBCUniversal's Olympic coverage, visit NBCOlympics.com.