TV Ratings: London Olympics End on High Note With Closing Ceremony

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The 2012 London Olympics came to a close on Sunday night, continuing a winning streak for NBC that saw additional gains over Beijing coverage four years ago. The Closing Ceremony and a recap special raked in 26.9 million viewers during primetime, according to fast affiliate ratings. In the demo, the three-hour-plus show earned a 9.1 rating among adults 18-49, jumping 32 percent from initial returns at the 2008 Games.

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Final numbers later today will reveal the total haul for the Closing Ceremony, which aired past 11 p.m., and just how large of a margin NBC's London coverage outmatched Beijing. Ratings for the preview of NBC's fall comedy Animal Practice that aired after the Olympic coverage also will come through later.

Among the other networks, Fox brought in a 1.3 rating among adults 18-49 and 2.8 million viewers with encores of its animation block.

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CBS saw PGA overrun at the beginning of its night, featuring a touted first interview with Mitt Romney and his newly named running mate Paul Ryan. 60 Minutes averaged a 1.0 rating among 18-49-ers, though it bled into an hour of Big Brother (1.9 adults rating). With encores of Criminal Minds and The Mentalist, CBS averaged a 1.2 rating among adults 18-49 and 4.7 million viewers.

Secret Millionaire and Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition both saw gains from the previous week's series lows on ABC. Millionaire rose 25 percent for a 1.0 adults rating, while Makeover was up 13 percent for a 0.9 in the demo. ABC averaged a 0.8 rating among adults 18-49 and 3.5 million viewers.