As the Olympics come to a final close, NBC can look at its ratings as a true triumph. While the network was criticized for tape delays, failure to show certain events live, not streaming the Opening Ceremony live online saying Americans needed “context” from a rambling Matt Lauer and Meredith Viera, it still finished above the ratings for Beijing by a wide margin.
For Saturday night, a big night that saw Great Britain’s Mo Farah complete only the 7th 5k/10K gold medal double in Olympic history, the men’s 4×100 relay with Jamaica setting a record with Usain Bolt on the anchor leg, and the 4×400 meters relay with the USA winning, NBC saw a 12.6 final rating with a 26 share. That’s up 22% from Beijing’s final numbers of 10.3/19.
Average viewership for London was 21.8 million, up a whopping 30% from Beijing for the final Saturday night of the Olympics.
The average rating for the 16 days of the Olympics on NBC is 17.6/30, up 16% from four years ago. And the average viewership continues to be above 31 million.
Your press release.
Through 16 Days, 31.1 Million Average Primetime Viewership for London Olympics on NBC is Best for Non-U.S. Summer Olympics in 36 Years
31.1 Million Average Viewership Through Saturday Tops Beijing by 12% and Athens by 25%
21.8 Million Average Viewership in Primetime Last Night Topped Comparable Night From Beijing by 30%
15th Time in 16 Nights that Primetime Viewership Topped Comparable Nights from the 2008 Beijing OlympicsLONDON – August 12, 2012 – Through 16 days, the London Olympics has averaged 31.1 million viewers in primetime, making it the most-watched non-U.S. Summer Olympics since the Montreal Olympics in 1976.
- The 16-day average primetime viewership of 31.1 million is up 12% from the first 16 nights from the 2008 Beijing Olympics (27.7 million) and up 25% from the first 16 nights from the 2004 Athens Olympics (24.9 million).
- The 16-night average household rating of 17.6/30 is 9% higher than the first 16 nights from Beijing (16.2/28), and 16% higher than the first 16 nights from Athens (15.2/27), the last European Summer Olympics.
Last night’s primetime coverage of the London Olympics on NBC drew an average of 21.8 million viewers, the most-watched final Saturday of competition for a non-U.S. Summer Olympics since 1988 (Seoul). Last night marked the 15th time in 16 nights that the average viewership for the London Olympics surpassed the Beijing Olympics.
Last night’s average viewership of 21.8 million topped the comparable night from the Beijing Olympics by 30% (16.8 million) and the Athens Olympics by 21% (18.0 million).
- The 30% margin over Beijing last night marked the biggest viewership advantage for of any night of the London Olympics vs. Beijing.
Last night’s primetime coverage on NBC (9-11:25 p.m. ET/PT) earned a 12.6/23 national rating/share, the highest-rated final Saturday night of competition for a non-U.S. Summer Olympics since 1992 (Barcelona). The 12.6 rating is 22% higher than the comparable night from Beijing (10.3/19), and 14% higher than the comparable night from Athens (11.1/21), the last European Olympics.
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16-DAY METERED MARKET AVERAGE (ALL 56 METERED MARKETS):
1. Salt Lake City
25.1/45
2. Kansas City
22.6/38
3. Milwaukee
22.3/37
4. Denver
22.2/42
5. Columbus OH
22.0/37
6. Norfolk
21.3/33
7. Indianapolis
21.0/36
8. San Diego
20.9/37
T9. West Palm Beach
20.6/34
T9. Richmond
20.6/33
11. Albuquerque-Santa Fe
20.4/34
12. Portland, OR
20.2/42
T13. Minneapolis-St. Paul
19.9/38
T13. Oklahoma City
19.9/32
T15. Atlanta
19.7/32
T15. Washington
19.7/36
T15. Sacramento-Stockton
19.7/37
T15. Austin, TX
19.7/35
T19. San Francisco
19.5/39
T19. Nashville
19.5/31
21. Ft. Myers-Naples
19.4/35
22. St. Louis
19.0/32
23. Los Angeles
18.8/35
24. New Orleans
18.6/27
T25. Greensboro-High Point
18.4/29
T25. Tulsa
18.4/29
27. Knoxville
18.3/29
T28. Chicago
18.2/32
T28. Phoenix
18.2/31
T28. Cleveland
18.2/31
T31. New York
18.1/31
T31. Jacksonville
18.1/29
33. Louisville
18.0/30
34. Seattle-Tacoma
17.9/36
35. Orlando-Daytona Beach
17.8/31
36. Cincinnati
17.7/30
37. Philadelphia
17.5/29
38. Dallas-Ft. Worth
17.4/31
T39. San Antonio
17.3/27
T39. Memphis
17.3/27
T41. Detroit
17.2/29
T41. Baltimore
17.2/28
43. Pittsburgh
17.0/30
T44. Boston
16.7/31
T44. Houston
16.7/29
T44. Birmingham, Alabama
16.7/25
T47. Hartford-New Haven
16.6/28
T47. Las Vegas
16.6/29
T47. Buffalo
16.6/29
48. Greenville-Spartanburg
16.4/26
51. Miami-Ft. Lauderdale
16.1/27
52. Tampa-St. Petersburg
15.8/29
T53. Providence-New Bedford, RI
15.7/27
T53. Dayton
15.7/26
55. Raleigh-Durham
15.0/25
56. Charlotte
14.0/25
HIGHEST RATED BY TIME ZONE (THROUGH 16 DAYS):
Mountain 20.3/36 Pacific 19.0/36 Central 18.6/32 Eastern 17.8/30
There you have it.
