After suffering its first ratings downturn for the 2012 Olympics last Saturday, NBC saw the ratings for Sunday forge ahead of Beijing once again. On Sunday, NBC saw its ratings for gymnastics, beach volleyball, and Usain Bolt’s successful defense of his 2008 gold medal in the 100 meters, go up 9% for the second Sunday night of the Games as compared to Beijing.
The final ratings for Sunday’s Olympic primetime coverage was 17.5/29 as compared to Beijing’s 16.0/27 for the comparable night in 2008.
NBC says there was an average viewership of 31.3 million viewers on Sunday. That’s up 15% from Beijing and 20% from Anthens.
For daytime which was live in all time zones, NBC received an average of 8.2 million viewers for the tennis gold medal match between Andy Murray and Roger Federer.
Here’s the press release from NBC.
31.3 MILLION AVERAGE VIEWERSHIP ON NBC LAST NIGHT IS BEST FOR MIDDLE SUNDAY OF ANY NON-U.S. SUMMER OLYMPICS IN 36 YEARS
7 Nights of at Least 30 Million Viewers Equals Total From Entire Beijing Olympics (5) and Athens Olympics (2) Combined
33.6 Million Average Viewership and 18.8 Household Rating for the First 10 Nights of the London Olympics is Most for any Non-U.S. Summer Olympics in 36 Years
London Olympics Pacing Ahead of Beijing and Athens in Every Measurement
Andy Murray-Roger Federer Gold Medal Match Draws 8.2 Million ViewersLONDON – August 6, 2012 – Last night’s primetime coverage of the London Olympics on NBC drew an average of 31.3 million viewers, the ninth time in 10 nights that the average viewership for the London Olympics surpassed the Beijing Olympics. This marks the seventh night with at least 30 million viewers, equaling the combined total of the 2008 Beijing Olympics (five nights) and the 2004 Athens Olympics (two nights).
Last night’s coverage, which featured Usain Bolt winning his second consecutive gold medal in the 100 meters, and Carmelita Jeter taking the gold medal in the 400 meters, drew 31.3 million viewers, the best for a middle Sunday for a non-U.S. Summer Olympics since the Montreal Olympics in 1976 (35.0 million).
- Last night’s viewership is up 15% from the comparable night at the Beijing Olympics (27.2 million) and up 20% from the comparable night at the Athens Olympics (26.0 million).
Last night’s primetime coverage on NBC (7:30-11:29 p.m. ET/PT) earned a 17.5/29 national rating/share, 9% higher than the comparable night from Beijing (16.0/27), and 11% higher than the comparable night from Athens (15.8/28), the last European Olympics.
FIRST 10 DAYS – BEST VIEWERSHIP AND HOUSEHOLD RATING FOR NON-U.S. SUMMER GAMES IN 36 YEARS:
Through the first 10 days, the London Olympics has averaged 33.6 million viewers in primetime, and a household rating of 18.8/32, making it the most-watched and highest-rated non-U.S. Summer Olympics since the Montreal Olympics in 1976.
- The 10-day average primetime viewership of 33.6 million viewers is 3.7 million more viewers than the first 10 nights from Beijing (29.9 million) and 7.4 million more than the first 10 nights from Athens (26.2 million).
- The 10-night average household rating of 18.8/32 is 9% higher than the first 10 nights from Beijing (17.3/30), and 19% higher than the first 10 nights from Athens (15.8/28), the last European Summer Olympics.
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ANDY MURRAY-ROGER FEDERER GOLD MEDAL MATCH DRAWS 8.2 MILLION VIEWERS:
NBC’s daytime show, which aired live across the country yesterday, featured Andy Murray defeating Roger Federer to win an Olympic gold medal on Centre Court at Wimbledon.
The live gold medal match (9-11:30 a.m. ET), which was a rematch of this year’s Wimbledon final, drew 8.2 million viewers and had a household rating of 5.5/17.
HIGHEST RATED BY TIME ZONE (THROUGH 10 DAYS):
Mountain — 22.0/38
Pacific — 20.4/39
Central — 20.2/34
Eastern — 19.3/3310-DAY METERED MARKET AVERAGE:
1. Salt Lake City — 26.8/47
2. Milwaukee — 24.7/41
3. Kansas City — 24.4/41
4. Denver — 24.0/45
5. Columbus — 23.6/39
6. Norfolk — 23.5/36
7. Indianapolis — 23.0/39
8. San Diego — 22.9/41
9. Richmond — 22.3/36
10. West Palm Beach — 22.2/37
11. Albuquerque — 21.8/36
T12. Washington, D.C. — 21.6/39
T12. Minneapolis — 21.6/41
T14. Austin — 21.3/38
T14. Oklahoma City — 21.3/34
16. Ft. Myers — 21.2/38
T17. Portland — 21.1/43
T17. Nashville — 21.1/33
19. Sacramento — 21.0/39
T20. St. Louis — 20.9/35
T20. Atlanta — 20.9/34
That’s going to do it.
