• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, August 13, 2012

The Olympics proved to be a ratings king in Britain with a surge in national pride helping the BBC post huge viewership numbers. Figures show 90% of the U.K. population (51.9 million) watched at least 15 minutes of the London Games on a TV platform over the 17 days.

The Queen’s diamond jubilee earlier this summer drew 69% of the population, while the Kate-and-William wedding in 2011 attracted 61%. The 2002 World Cup, where England lost in the quarterfinals to Brazil, yielded an 81% figure, ranking it second behind the Olympics under the current tracking system.

The 90% Olympic home-country figure makes what happened in America look very impressive. A reported 210 million Americans, or 72%, saw some of the Games, even with the prime-time delayed coverage.

In the U.S., the Super Bowl is only a one-day event, but this year on average only 38% of the population was watching the game at any moment.

The British ratings were no doubt helped by superb performances by many British athletes. On one night, three track-and-field gold medals were won.

The Opening Ceremony drew the highest viewership during the Games with a 23.4 million average, followed closely by the Closing Ceremony with a 23.2 million average. That may be an indication Britons weren't ready to say goodbye or they were hungry for the Spice Girls return Sunday. (The Closing Ceremony figure could rise when final data comes in.)

The men’s 100-meter final involving Usain Bolt on Aug. 5 had the highest peak viewership for an athletic event, with 20 million viewers. British athletes winning medals accounted for the rest of the top five.

With online streams, British athletes were involved in the top 5, led by the 820,000 streams on Aug. 5 for the gold medal tennis wins by American Serena Williams and Britain’s Andy Murray.

So, British advertisers must have been in a jolly good mood with the massive ratings, right? Maybe so, but not because their ads were seen. The BBC is commercial free.