After beating Beijing for the first seven days of the Olympics, NBC suffered its first downturn from 2008 on Saturday night. NBC’s primetime rating ended at a 15.9 final number with a 26 share. That’s down from the 17.8/32 for the second Saturday night of the Olympics.
Viewership was 28.0 million viewers last down and that was down again from Beijing which had 31.6 million viewers.
But for daytime which was live in all time zones, NBC saw very good numbers especially for the Serena Williams-Maria Sharapova women’s tennis finals at Wimbledon. That drew a very respectable 7.9 million viewers in the period from 9 — 10:30 a.m. ET.
Let’s look at the numbers from NBC for Saturday.
OLYMPICS CONTINUE TO SCORE FOR NBCUNIVERSAL
London Olympics Pacing Ahead of Beijing and Athens in Every Measurement
Through 9 Days Nearly 195 Million People Have Watched the Olympics on the Networks of NBCUniversal
33.9 Million Average Viewership and 18.9 Household Rating for the First 9 Nights of the London Olympics is Most for any Non-U.S. Summer Olympics in 36 Years
Serena Williams-Maria Sharapova Gold Medal Match Draws 7.9 Million Viewers
Mountain Time Zone and Pacific Time Zone are Highest Rated Through 9 Nights
28.0 Million Average Viewership and 15.9 Household Rating Last NightLONDON – August 5, 2012 – Through the first nine days, the London Olympics has reached 194.7 million total viewers, 33.9 million average primetime viewers and a household rating of 18.9/32, each posting significant gains compared to the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2004 Athens Olympics, the last European Olympics.
- Through nine days, 194.7 million people have watched the Olympics on the networks of NBCUniversal, 3.5 million more than Beijing (191.2) through the same time period. The 2008 Beijing Games hold the record for the most-watched event in U.S. television history with 215 million viewers. The 194.7 million total viewers is nearly 18 million more than Athens through the same period (176.9 million).
- Through the first nine nights of the London Olympics, NBC is averaging 33.9 million viewers, the most of any non-U.S. Summer Olympics since the 1976 Montreal Olympics. The 33.9 million is 3.7 million more viewers than Beijing (30.2 million) and 7.7 million more than Athens (26.2 million).
- The nine-night average household rating of 18.9/32 is the best for any non-U.S. Summer Olympics since the 1976 Montreal Olympics. The 18.9/32 is 9% higher than the first nine nights from Beijing (17.4/30), and 20% higher than the first nine nights from Athens (15.8/28), the last European Summer Olympics.
- Additionally, six nights of the London Olympics have drawn more than 30 million viewers, more than the entire 2008 Beijing Olympics (5) or 2004 Athens Olympics (2).
YESTERDAY – SATURDAY 8/4
PRIMETIME
Last night’s coverage, which featured Michael Phelps’ 22nd career Olympic medal (gold in the 4×100 IM), drew 28.0 million viewers, up 24% from the comparable night at the Athens Olympics (22.5 million). While the viewership is off from the comparable night in Beijing (31.6 million), that night included live coverage of Michael Phelps winning his record eighth gold medal of the Beijing Games, and Dara Torres, at age 41 winning a silver medal in the 50m freestyle. In addition, that night in Beijing featured Usain Bolt’s record-setting gold medal in the 100m.Last night’s primetime coverage on NBC (8:30-11:15 p.m. ET/PT) earned a 15.9/26 national rating/share, 17% higher than the comparable night at the Athens Olympics (13.6/28), the last European Olympics, but down from the comparable night in Beijing (17.8/32), the fourth highest-rated night of competition for those Games.
NBC’S LIVE DAYTIME VIEWERSHIP SOARS:
NBC’s daytime show, which aired live across the country yesterday, featured live coverage of Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova playing for Olympic gold at Wimbledon as well as Team USA’s men’s volleyball vs. Russia, Team USA’s men’s water polo vs. Serbia and the men’s 10,000m gold medal final.
The Noon-6 p.m. ET window drew 12.6 million viewers an increase of 13% compared to the second Saturday morning at the Beijing Games (11.2 million). The household rating of 8.2/21 is 9% higher than the comparable afternoon from Beijing (7.5/20).
- 10 a.m.-Noon ET averaged 11.0 million viewers, an increase of 26% versus the second Saturday morning at the Beijing Games (8.7 million). The household rating in this time period (7.4/22) is 21% higher than the comparable morning from Beijing (6.1/18).
- The early-morning window (9-10 a.m. ET) drew 7.0 million viewers and had a household rating of 5.0/17. There is no comparable data from the Beijing Games for this time period.
- During the live Williams-Sharapova gold medal match (9-10:30 a.m. ET), which took place on Centre Court at Wimbledon with Williams winning 6-0, 6-1, NBC drew 7.9 million viewers and had a household rating of 5.6/18.
- The late night program (12:33-1:22 a.m. ET/PT) drew 7.2 million viewers and a household rating of 4.8/15, an increase of 7% and 2%, respectively vs. Beijing
HIGHEST RATED BY TIME ZONE (THROUGH NINE DAYS):
Mountain — 22.4/39
Pacific — 20.7/39
Central — 20.5/35
Eastern — 19.4/33NINE-NIGHT METERED MARKET AVERAGE:
1. Salt Lake City — 27.0/48
2. Milwaukee — 25.0/42
3. Kansas City — 24.7/41
4. Denver — 24.3/46
T5. Columbus, OH — 23.8/40
T5. Norfolk — 23.8/37
T7. Indianapolis — 23.3/40
T7. San Diego — 23.3/41
9. Richmond — 22.4/36
10. West Palm Beach — 22.3/37
11. Albuquerque-Santa Fe — 22.1/37
12. Minneapolis-St. Paul — 22.0/42
13. Washington — 21.8/40
T14. St. Louis — 21.4/36
T14. Portland, OR — 21.4/44
T14. Nashville — 21.4/33
T14. Austin, TX — 21.4/39
T14. Ft. Myers-Naples — 21.4/38
19. Oklahoma City — 21.3/34
20. Sacramento-Stockton — 21.2/39
And the West Coast ratings and average primetime ratings are quite astonishing even with the tape delays.
