FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, August 19th, 2016

NBC RANKS #1 IN PRIMETIME FOR 115TH CONSECUTIVE NIGHT OF SUMMER OLYMPICS

Thursday’s Total Audience Delivery Registers 22.9 Million Primetime Viewers

Golf’s Return to the Olympics Posts Highest-Rated Weekday Round of Women’s Golf in More Than Two Years

RIO DE JANEIRO – August 19, 2016 – NBC Olympics’ exclusive and unprecedented multi-platform coverage of the 2016 Rio Olympics continues to dominate the competition.

NBC’s Thursday primetime Rio Olympics broadcast was by far the most-watched show of the night – marking the 115th consecutive night that an NBC Summer Olympics presentation has topped primetime. NBC’s primetime Summer Games has won 131 of 132 nights in People Meter history.

The last time the Summer Games on NBC show didn’t rank No. 1 in broadcast primetime was for the Closing Ceremony of the Seoul Olympics on Oct. 2, 1988. That night it was topped by 60 Minutes (which followed an NFL overrun), and the movies Cocoon and Liberace.

Thursday’s primetime Rio Olympics coverage posted a Total Audience Delivery average of 22.9 million viewers with a 13.6 household rating.

Last night’s NBC-only Rio Olympics coverage (8:30-11:02 p.m. ET/PT) averaged 21.7 million viewers and posted a 12.8/23 household rating, according to national data from The Nielsen Company. Also in primetime on Wednesday, NBCSN’s live Olympics competition coverage averaged 959,000 viewers.

Additional NBC Olympics metrics:

  • Among Adults 18-49, NBC’s 14-night 7.6 primetime rating in the demographic more than quadruples (347% above) the other broadcast networks combined (1.7 on ABC, CBS and FOX) – the largest advantage in the first 14 days of any Olympics (on record).
  • After 14 days, the NBC-only average primetime viewership (26.4 million viewers) and household rating (14.9) have respective 252% and 198% advantages over ABC, CBS and FOX combined – the second-largest Games advantage on record (behind only the London Olympics).
  • Golf Channel’s presentation of the women’s golf competition at the Olympics will account for more live hours of coverage than any other women’s golf event in history. Golf Channel’s Thursday afternoon coverage of the second round was up 281% among average viewers and up 229% for U.S. household rating vs. the same Thursday in 2012 opposite the London Games.
  • Golf Channel’s second-round coverage is the highest-rated live weekday round of any women’s golf event in more than two years across all dayparts including primetime (Noon-3:14 pm ET; 0.23 US HH rating, 316,000 average viewers), dating back to the second round of the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open at Pinehurst (6/20/14; 0.44 U.S. HH rating on ESPN2). Additionally, the Olympics round two is the most-watched Thursday of women’s golf coverage since round one of the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open on ESPN2 (6/19/14; 437,000 average viewers). Saturday’s final round, which will award the first Olympic medals for women’s golf since 1900, includes South Korea’s Inbee Park, USA’s Gerina Piller, New Zealand’s Lydia Ko, Canada’s Brooke Henderson and USA’s Stacy Lewis.

NBC Olympics coverage on other channels and digital streaming has lifted primetime viewership each night (chart below).

Date Total Audience Delivery NBC-only viewership TAD Lift
Sat. 8/6 23.5 million 20.6 million 14%
Sun. 8/7 31.8 million 29.8 million 7%
Mon. 8/8 31.5 million 28.9 million 9%
Tues. 8/9 36.1 million 33.4 million 8%
Wed. 8/10 28.6 million 26.4 million 8%
Thur. 8/11 33.0 million 31.2 million 6%
Fri. 8/12 26.0 million 24.0 million 8%
Sat. 8/13 26.8 million 25.5 million 5%
Sun. 8/14 28.1 million 26.7 million 5%
Mon. 8/15 25.5 million 24.2 million 5%
Tues. 8/16 25.6 million 24.1 million 6%
Wed. 8/17 22.1 million 20.7 million 7%
Wed. 8/18 22.9 million 21.7 million 6%
Average 28.3 million 26.5 million 7%

NBC Olympics’ Total Audience Delivery measures broader Rio Olympics consumption by calculating average minute viewing across broadcast, cable, and digital. The 2016 Rio Olympics is the first in U.S. media history with live primetime Olympic coverage on channels other than the primary broadcast network. It is also the first time that the broadcast network coverage, including primetime, has been streamed simultaneously on digital platforms.

Through the 13 nights of competition, Total Audience Delivery for Rio 2016 and the 2012 London Olympics:

OLYMPICS TOTAL AUDIENCE DELIVERY

Day Rio 2016 London 2012* Rio 2016 London 2012*
1st Sat. 23.5 million 28.7 million 13.0 rating 15.8 rating
1st Sun. 31.8 million 36.0 million 17.3 rating 19.8 rating
1st Mon. 31.5 million 31.6 million 18.1 rating 18.0 rating
1st Tues 36.1 million 38.7 million 20.5 rating 21.8 rating
1st Wed 28.6 million 30.8 million 16.5 rating 17.9 rating
1st Thurs 33.0 million 36.8 million 18.9 rating 21.1 rating
1st Friday 26.0 million 28.5 million 15.0 rating 16.2 rating
Mid. Sat. 26.8 million 28.0 million 15.0 rating 15.9 rating
Mid. Sun. 28.1 million 31.3 million 15.8 rating 17.5 rating
2nd Mon. 25.5 million 26.6 million 14.9 rating 15.8 rating
2nd Tues. 25.6 million 30.1 million 14.3 rating 17.6 rating
2nd Wed. 22.1 million 29.1 million 13.3 rating 16.8 rating
2nd Thurs 22.9 million 22.9 million 13.6 rating 13.6 rating

*NOTE: The 2012 London Olympics had no simultaneous live streaming and no competing primetime Olympic cable coverage.

TOP 10 METERED MARKETS FOR NBC THURSDAY PRIMETIME:

1. Salt Lake City 17.3/34
2. Denver 16.3/33
3. West Palm Beach 16.1/27
4. Columbus 15.8/27
T5. Austin 15.4/28
T5. Dayton 15.4/25
7. St. Louis 15.3/27
8. Ft. Myers 15.0/25
T9. Indianapolis 14.9/27
T9. Minneapolis 14.9/26

About NBC Olympics

A division of NBC Sports Group, NBC Olympics is responsible for producing, programming and promoting NBCUniversal’s Olympic Games coverage. It is renowned for its unsurpassed Olympic heritage, award-winning production, and ability to aggregate the largest audiences in U.S. television history. The London 2012 Olympic Games were watched by 217 million Americans across the networks of NBCUniversal, making it the most-watched event in U.S. television history.

–Rio 2016–