Bigger than Beijing

NBC’s London Olympic coverage topped Beijing for the fourth night in a row. The Nielsen company estimated that Monday night’s prime-time coverage was seen by 31.6 million viewers, up from the 30.2 million who watched the first Monday of competition in Beijing four years ago. At least initially, it had appeared NBC had fallen short of Beijing. Nielsen’s overnight measurement of the nation’s largest cities showed NBC’s ratings down 5 percent from the 2008 Games in China. But Nielsen’s viewership estimate is the more definitive number, a measurement based on Nielsen meters all across the country. – Associated Press