London Olympics "most-watched" TV event in U.S. history, NBC says

(CBS/AP) NEW YORK - NBCUniversal says the London Olympics won ratings gold.

The company is calling the 2012 Olympics "the most-watched television event in U.S. history."

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Citing Nielsen Co. ratings figures, NBCUniversal said Monday that more than 219 million viewers watched the Summer Games on NBC and numerous sister networks. This figure surpasses the 215 million who watched the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The company said NBC averaged a prime-time audience of 31 million, topping Summer Games viewerships in Beijing and in Athens in 2004.

Sunday's closing ceremony was seen by 31 million viewers.

Covering its 13th Olympics, NBCUniversal presented 5,535 hours of coverage across its TV and online channels.

The high ratings came even as the network drew criticism for waiting to show many of the events during primetime hours instead of airing them live.