Despite dip, NBC Olympics ratings remain strong

NBC's 15.9 final rating for Saturday night's coverage of the Olympics marked the first time during the London Games that a primetime audience was smaller than the same night in Beijing four years ago.

The 15.9 rating and 28.0 million viewers both marked an 11 percent dip from 2008, according to the Sports Business Daily.

However, the network is still on pace to have the highest-rated non-U.S. Olympics since the 1976 Montral Games. NBC averaged an 18.9 rating and 33.9 million viewers through the first nine nights of the London Games, up 9 percent and 12 percent from the Beijing Games.