With Women’s Soccer Final, NBC Sports Network Sets a Record

The United States women’s soccer team’s victory over Japan in the gold medal final of the London Games on Thursday was seen by an average of 4.35 million viewers — the most-watched event in the NBC Sports Network’s history. The 2-1 win eclipsed viewership of Stanley Cup finals games played in 2009 and 2010 when NBCSN was called Versus.
In addition to the TV viewership, the game generated nearly 1.5 million live streams on NBCOlympics.com, more than any previous Olympic event. That exceeds other streams from London: Usain Bolt winning the 100-meter race (1.289 million) and the United States women’s gymnastics all-around gold medal victory (1.463).
The NBC Sports Group designated NBCSN its home of Olympic sports during the Games, a strategy that has sent the cable network’s viewership soaring. The strategy is also intended to attract new viewers to the network, in the hope of converting them into regular viewers when the Olympics end.