MUMBAI: The opening ceremony of the London Olympics set a new viewership record with 26.9 million viewers in UK tuning in, according to public broadcaster BBC.

The average viewing figure for Friday?s four-hour show was 22.4 million thereby becoming UK?s 13th most-watched programme ever.

In contrast, the opening ceremony of the Beijing Games in 2008 averaged at 5 million and peaked at 5.4 million.
The programme also had an 82 per cent share - almost twice that of the previous high for an Olympic opening ceremony, in Barcelona in 1992.

In US, The Nielsen Company said London?s ceremony was the most-watched opening ceremony of any summer or winter Olympics with a record 40.7 million watching it on NBC.

The viewership topped the previous mark of 39.8 million people who watched the 1996 Atlanta Olympics begin, and the 34.9 million who watched the opening ceremony of Beijing games four years ago.

MUMBAI: US broadcaster NBC will head to the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con this month to showcase ?Revolution?, the new drama from Eric Kripke, J.J. Abrams, Bryan Burk and Jon Favreau; returning series ?Grimm? and ?Community?; the upcoming series ?Hannibal?; and the pilot ?Mockingbird Lane?

On 13 July there will be a discussion on the series ?Community?, a look at the casts? favourite scenes and a tribute to the fans. Stars Joel McHale, Alison Brie, Gillian Jacobs, Danny Pudi and Yvette Nicole Brown are confirmed to participate. Stars from "Community" will be available to sign autographs.

On 14 July stars and producers from "Revolution" will be available to sign autographs. There will also be a conversation with television writer/executive producer Bryan Fuller ?Heroes, the creative force behind ?Pushing Daisies? and ?Wonderfalls?. He discusses two of his projects, ?Hannibal? and ?Mockingbird Lane?.

In the mid-season drama ?Hannibal?, one of the most fascinating literary characters, comes to life on television for the first time - psychiatrist-turned-serial-killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter. The upcoming pilot ?Mockingbird Lane? is a reinvention of the 1960?s comedy "The Munsters".

Meanwhile ?Grimm?, NBC?s supernatural mythology drama, returns to Comic-Con to kick off its second season packed with chills and revelations.

NBC will also host its annual invitation-only Blogger Party bringing together stars and creators from NBC?s new and returning shows to mingle with the digital network.

Online NBC.com will once again go behind-the-scenes at Comic-Con to bring videos, photos and interviews to fans who are unable to attend. From the convention floor, press rooms and Gaslamp Square Park, NBC.com will be on hand to capture and deliver a look at all of NBC?s initiatives for SDCC 2012.

NBC will also engage fans via various social media platforms with active updates throughout the duration of Comic-Con on NBC.com, Facebook, Tumblr and YouTube, and by live tweeting during the panels.

MUMBAI: US broadcaster NBC has ordered an action adventure show ?Crossbones?. Production for the 10 episodes will begin later this year.

The announcement was made by NBC Entertainment chairman Robert Greenblatt.

It?s 1715 on the Bahamian island of New Providence, the first functioning democracy in the Americas, where the diabolical pirate Edward Teach, aka Blackbeard, reigns over a rogue nation of thieves, outlaws and miscreant sailors.

Part shantytown, part marauder?s paradise, this is a place like no other on earth - and a mounting threat to international commerce.

To gain control of this fearsome society, Tom Lowe, a highly skilled undercover assassin, is sent to the pirates? haven to take down the brilliant and charismatic Blackbeard. But the closer Lowe gets, the more he finds that his quest is not so simple.

Lowe can?t help but admire the political ideals of Blackbeard, whose thirst for knowledge knows no bounds - and no law. But Lowe is not the only danger to Blackbeard?s rule. He is a man with many villainous rivals and one great weakness - a passionately driven woman whom he cannot deny.

MUMBAI: Gearing up for their upfront presentations, leading television networks NBC and Fox have added seven new series to the 2012-13 primetime schedule.

NBC, while renewing Dick Wolf?s Law & Order: SVU, has offered the producer a new drama Chicago Fire. It has also ordered Jimmy Fallon?s comedy pickup Guys With Kids. Also picked up were the comedies Guys with Kids, Go On, Save Me, The New Normal, 1600 Penn and Animal Practice.

Fox has tied-in three comedies including It?s Messy from Universal Television, 20th Century Fox?s Ben & Kate and The Goodwin Games. It has also picked up two dramas, The Mob Doctor and The Following from Sony Pictures TV and Warner Bros.

Fox is also sticking to 20th Century Fox Television?s Touch despite low viewership while axing Alcatraz and The Finder to make room for the dramas.

NBC and Fox are scheduled to showcase their lineups at upfront presentations in New York on Monday.

Meanwhile, AETN Group-owned A&E, History, Lifetime, Lifetime Movie Network, H2 and BIO has decided not to reveal its lineup during upfront presentation. CBS, ABC and Warner Bros. Entertainment-CBS Corporation JV CW Network are yet to form their own development slates.

Early indications from industry experts suggest that the big four broadcasters will see an increase in upfront revenue of between 2 per cent to 4 per cent for the 2012-13 TV season.

The big four plus the CW network should collect between $9.0 billion and $9.2 billion during the upfront season, according to Steve Lanzano, chief executive of TVB, a trade body for TV broadcasters.