So far, Olympics are ratings gold for NBC

Posted July 31, 2012

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Reigning beach volleyball gold medalists Misty May-Treanor, left, and Kerri Walsh walk in the parade of athletes during Friday's record-setting opening ceremony. (Credit: By Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY Sports)

•Gold medal. The Opening Ceremony of the 2012 London Summer Olympics drew a record 40.7 million viewers to NBC Friday, despite complaints about tape delays. All told, the first three nights of coverage claimed 35.8 million, also a new high. That's about 5 million above the 2008 Beijing Summer Games and 1.4 million higher than the previous record, set in Atlanta in 1996.

•Bad dates. The third-season opener of ABC's Bachelor Pad met 4.7 million viewers Monday, a series low that's down from 7 million for last summer's start. CBS' 3 did even worse, drawing 2.3 million for a Thursday preview and 1.7 million in Sunday's regular slot. Fox's Take Me Out went out with 2.8 million Thursday, and NBC's Love in the Wild finale claimed 4.4 million Tuesday.

•Unreal. NBC's season finale of American Ninja Warrior claimed 4.9 million viewers Monday, while ABC's more playful Wipeout averaged 6.9 million, a season high,on Thursday.

•Cable openers: Syfy's Warehouse 13 (2.1 million viewers Monday) and Alphas (1.7 million Monday); Bravo's Top Chef Masters (1.1 million Wednesday); MTV's WakeBrothers (715,000 Wednesday) and Animal Planet's Hillbilly Handfishin' (648,000 Sunday).