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TV viewers smash the Olympic record
Matthew Beard, in Beijing20.08.08
The Beijing Olympics has attracted the highest television audiences in Games history.
The opening ceremony pulled in a record 842million viewers in China while an estimated 1.2bn people tuned in worldwide.
NBC recorded its highest Saturday night audience for 18 years as 40m Americans watched swimmer Michael Phelps win his record eighth gold medal.
Chinese broadcaster CCTV have added two further dedicated channels, making a total of nine.
Timo Lumme, director of marketing at the IOC, said today: "The Beijing Games look set to be the biggest broadcast event in Olympic history."
