Last week, the International Olympic Committee handed out its Golden Ring Awards to its broadcasters for their coverage of the XXX Games of the Summer Olympiad in London. NBC was given three Golds and one Silver in all of the categories it was nominated.
The three Golds were for Best Olympic Program, Best Olympic Feature and Best On Air Promotion.
The 2012 Olympics were the most watched event in U.S. television history with 217 million people watching, surpassing the 2008 Olympics in Communist China which garnered a total of 215 million viewers.
Here’s the press release from NBC explaining the Olympic Golden Rings Awards and each of those won by the network.
NBC OLYMPICS WINS FOUR PRESTIGIOUS OLYMPIC GOLDEN RINGS AWARDS, INCLUDING THREE GOLDS
Best Olympic Program, Best Olympic Feature & Best On-Air Promotion Win Gold
Best Olympic Athlete Profile Wins SilverNEW YORK – NBC Olympics won four prestigious Olympic Golden Rings awards — three Gold and one Silver in the four categories it was eligible, including Gold for Best Olympic Program — last week in Lausanne, Switzerland at the International Olympic Committee’s biennial awards ceremony. The Olympic Golden Rings are awarded by the IOC to honor broadcasters for their outstanding coverage of the Olympic Games. Last week’s awards were specifically for the London Olympics.
NBC Olympics President Gary Zenkel was in attendance in Lausanne to accept the four awards on behalf of the entire NBC Olympics division, who won Gold in the following three categories for the Games of the XXX Olympiad:
- Best Olympic Program: NBC Olympics presented 5,535 hours of Olympic programming across numerous NBCUniversal’s platforms. The 2012 London Olympics became the most-watched event in U.S. television history with 217 million viewers, and primetime on NBC averaged 31.1 million viewers.
- Best Olympic Feature: “Measure and Motion” opened NBCUniversal’s coverage of the London Olympics. The film highlighted the major stories of the Games and London as the host city with collected work from around the world produced by the NBC Olympics Features Unit. It was voiced by British actors Ewan McGregor and Emily Blunt and aired on NBC just prior to the Opening Ceremony. To see the full film, click here.
- Best On Air Promotion: NBCUniversal’s campaign explored many of the unique themes of the Olympics, such as teamwork, global unity, and perseverance, as well the compelling stories of high-profile U.S. athletes. While using contemporary music and editing techniques, the campaign was crafted to be human and personal while revealing the themes that make the Olympics the extraordinary event that it is.
NBC Olympics also won silver for Best Olympic Athlete Profile for its feature on Kenyan 800m world-record holder and Gold medalist David Rudisha.
“To be recognized for our work among the best Olympic broadcasters in the world is particularly rewarding, and further validation of the tireless efforts and constant innovation of our entire Olympic team,” said Zenkel. “These awards are a credit to the creativity, passion and commitment of our staff and to the support provided to us throughout Comcast and NBCUniversal. They are also a credit to the compelling stories and extraordinary feats of the Olympic athletes, whom we consider it a privilege to cover. We are grateful to the IOC and the international jury for these prestigious honors.”
This year, clips from countries around the world were judged by an international jury, with winners receiving their prizes in Lausanne, Switzerland, in the presence of IOC President Jacques Rogge. Members of the IOC Radio and Television Commission attended together with representatives from the Olympic rights-holding broadcasters, the Organising Committees for the Olympic Games in London, Sochi and Rio, International Sports Federations and the City of Lausanne.
For more on the Olympic Golden Rings, click here.
NBCUniversal’s coverage of the 2012 London Games was watched by 217 million Americans on the networks of NBCUniversal, making it the most-watched event in U.S. history, surpassing the 2008 Beijing Olympic (215 million).
That is it.
