During a conference call with reporters this morning, NBC execs said archery was the hottest sport of the London Games so far, surpassing all other Olympic events in viewership.

The AP reports that an average of 1.5 million people watched the archery competitions when they were on the air. That's more people than tuned in to watch basketball.

NBC Research President Alan Wurtzel called archery "the new curling," and said The Hunger Games phenomenon may have played a significant role in the sport's popularity. "We're going to keep an eye on that," he said.

Entertainment Weekly's Inside TV blog notes that an Olympic archer, Khatuna Lorig, trained Jennifer Lawrence for her part as Katniss Everdeen in the film adaptation of the bestselling book series.

[photo via AP]