217 million Americans live in London. 13th of August, 2012- According to Nielsen statistics, 217 million Americans watched the London Olympics on NBCUniversal networks, breaking the record for the most-watched event in US television history, beating the 2008 Beijing Olympics (215 million). The previous record was set in 1972 Munich Olympics (174 million). Worldwide, the total number of people watching the Games reached 1 billion, according to the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The BBC reported that British TV viewers watched the Olympics as they happened with an average of 40 million people watching at any one time. The Observer reported that this was a record for British television. In Canada, the CBC reported that Canadian viewers watched the opening and closing ceremonies along with some of the sport's most memorable events including ice dancing, short track speed skating and women's volleyball. Viewership for these events combined was estimated at about 4 million people. In Mexico, ESPN reported that Mexican viewers watched the Olympics as they happened with an average of 30 million people watching at any one time. In Germany, ARD reported that German viewers watched the Olympics as they happened with an average of 40 million people watching at any one time. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported that this made the 2012 London Olympics the most-viewed event in European television history.