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London Olympics 2012: The Most-Watched Event In U.S. Television History, According To NBC

Despite the constant chatter about frustrating tape-delays and uneven coverage, NBC has announced that the 2012 London Olympics is the most-viewed event in U.S. television history, as ESPN's Darren Rovell reports. Roughly 219.4 million Americans tuned into the Olympics on NBC at some point over the past two-plus weeks.

NBC opted to broadcast many of the key events from London, including the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, on tape delay, much to the chagrin of people around the country. Viewers often made their complaints loud and clear through social media and the like, but they still turned on their televisions in droves.

Those tuning into the Games were treated to some truly fantastic stories, from Usian Bolt to Michael Phelps to the U.S. women's soccer team, so it's not surprising that so many Americans took it in. Even with the events streaming live online, people took to their televisions in record numbers.

Stay with this StoryStream for more London coverage, and head over to SB Nation's Olympic hub for more analysis on the 2012 Summer Games.

Photographs by Micah Taylor, clairity, and Fibonacci Blue used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.