FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, August 12th, 2016
NBCSN IS THE #1 CABLE NETWORK FOR ITS EXTENDED PRIMETIME COVERAGE THROUGH SIX NIGHTS OF RIO OLYMPICS COMPETITION
NBC Olympics’ Rio 2016 Live Streaming (1.28 Billion Minutes) Tops COMBINED Total of Entire London and Sochi Games
Thursday’s Total Audience Delivery Registers 33.0 Million Primetime Viewers
Golf Channel Viewership Spikes for First-Round Coverage of Sport’s Return to Olympics for First Time in 100+ Years
RIO DE JANEIRO – August 12, 2016 – NBC Olympics’ exclusive and unprecedented multi-platform coverage of the 2016 Rio Olympics continues to dominate the competition.
NBCSN, the home of Team USA, has averaged 1.63 million viewers for its extended primetime coverage (7 p.m.-midnight ET) for the six days of Rio Olympic competition Saturday, Aug. 6-Thursday, August 11 – ranking as primetime’s No. 1 cable network over that span, according to national data provided by The Nielsen Company.
NBCSN has also been the No.1 sports cable network on each of those six nights for its extended primetime coverage. Last night’s telecast averaged 1.44 million viewers, with coverage including U.S. women’s field hockey and U.S. men’s volleyball.
On Thursday, NBC Olympics’ live streaming for Rio 2016 reached 1.28 BILLION minutes – exceeding the COMBINED total of the entire London and Sochi Olympics (1.24 billion).
Thursday’s primetime Rio Olympics coverage posted a Total Audience Delivery average of 33.0 million viewers with an 18.9 household rating.
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.
NBC Olympics coverage on other channels and digital streaming has lifted primetime viewership by at least 6% 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% |
After seven days, the NBC-only average primetime viewership (28.7 million viewers) and household rating (15.9) have respective 293% and 218% advantages over ABC, CBS and FOX combined – the second-largest Games advantage on record (behind only the London Olympics), according to national data from The Nielsen Company.
Among Adults 18-49, NBC’s seven-night 8.4 primetime rating in the demographic tops by 394% the other broadcast networks combined (1.7 on ABC, CBS and FOX) – the largest advantage in the first seven days of any Olympics (on record).
Last night’s NBC-only Rio Olympics coverage (8-11:57 p.m. ET/PT) averaged 31.2 million viewers. The telecast — highlighted by Michael Phelps collecting his 22nd career gold medal in the 200m IM and qualifying for the 100m butterfly final; Simone Biles becoming the fourth consecutive American to win Olympic gold in the women’s gymnastics individual all-around, while teammate Aly Raisman captured silver; and Simone Manuel tying for gold in the 100m freestyle to become the first African-American woman to win an individual Olympic medal in swimming — posted a 17.8/32 household rating.
Additional NBC Olympics metrics:
- Golf Channel averaged 386,000 viewers for its live coverage of the full first-round (6:30 a.m.-3:13 p.m. ET) of the first day of Olympic golf since 1904 – a 543% increase from the same time period during the 2012 London Games. In addition, the network averaged 515,000 viewers for the afternoon window (noon-3:13 p.m. ET), up 287% from 2012.
- CNBC averaged 642,000 viewers from 5-8 p.m. ET – up 54% from the comparable day in London. Coverage featured team sprint cycling, handball and badminton.
Through the six 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 |
*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 | 25.8/47 |
2. Indianapolis | 24.7/41 |
3. Columbus | 24.6/41 |
4. Austin | 23.7/42 |
5. Norfolk | 23.2/35 |
6. Denver | 22.9/42 |
7. Kansas City | 22.6/37 |
T8. Minneapolis | 22.4/42 |
T8. Nashville | 22.4/34 |
T8. San Diego | 22.4/42 |
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–