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Two Billion People Watched Olympic Opening Ceremonies

Nearly a third of the people on Earth watched the Beijing Olympics opening ceremonies last Friday night, according to the Nielsen Co.

Nielsen collected audience data from 38 markets, finding that two billion viewers tuned in to see the Games kick off, writes The Hollywood Reporter. More than five in 10 viewers in Asia - including 63 percent of the Chinese market - watched the event. Europe saw 30 percent of viewers tune in, with North America following at 24 percent. Greece, host of the Games in 2004, had 44 percent of viewers watching, while Australia, host of the 2000 Games, had 43 percent of viewers tune in.

In the U.S., the opening ceremonies drew 34.2 million viewers, the largest audience for any television event since the Super Bowl (but not the largest in the days since the Games began) and the biggest audience ever for a non-U.S. Olympic Opening Ceremonies.