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–