As we’re about to wrap up the Olympics with a nice red bow, let’s finish up a few things here. First NBC has sent Friday’s primetime numbers that were delayed yesterday. NBC’s Friday Olympic primetime finished with a 13.2 rating and a 24 share. That’s way up from Beijing’s Final Friday which had a 10.7/19.
Average viewership for Friday ended with 22.5 million people which is 26% higher than 2008 which had 17.9 million viewers.
So overall, NBC had a great Olympics. It downplayed expectations saying it did not anticipate as good numbers from Beijing, but NBC ended up surpassing 2008 with a 15 day average of 17.8/30 and that is 15% higher than Beijing. The average viewership for the 15 nights was 31.5 million people which is the highest for a non-US Summer Olympics since Montreal in 1976. Beijing averaged 28.1 million which is quite good and Athens averaged 25.3 million so you can see NBC has been building its audience which it wants heading into Rio which should be a mostly live Olympics.
As for daytime coverage, NBC couldn’t be happier. The 10 weekday programs averaged 7.1 million viewers making that the most watched daytime show of any non-US Summer Olympics. And each weekday show outranked Beijing by a wide margin.
Finally, NBC says the London Games are the 2nd most watched event in US TV history ranking behind only Beijing in total viewers.
Check it all out below.
NBC’s Weekday Daytime Show is Most-Watched in History of Non-U.S. Summer Olympics
Average Viewership of 7.1 Million for Weekday Daytime Shows tops Beijing Olympics Daytime by 31%
Every Weekday Daytime Show from London Olympics tops Each Comparable Day from Beijing
212.7 Million Total Viewers for the London Olympics Through Friday is 2nd Most-Watched Event in U.S. Television History (Only Behind Beijing’s 215 Million)
31.5 Million Average Viewership Through 15 Nights of the London Olympics is Most for any Non-U.S. Summer Olympics in 36 Years
22.5 Million Viewers in Primetime Friday Night; 14th Time in 15 Nights that Primetime Viewership Topped Comparable Nights from the 2008 Beijing Olympics
Friday Night’s Viewership is 26% Ahead of Comparable Night in Beijing, Widest Margin of ANY Night of the London GamesLONDON – August 12, 2012 – The London Olympics weekday daytime show, co-hosted by Al Michaels and Dan Patrick, has set numerous viewership records. Average viewership of 7.1 million for all 10 telecasts makes it the most-watched weekday daytime show of any non-U.S. Summer Olympics in history; EVERY weekday daytime telecast from the London Olympics has topped the viewership of the comparable day in Beijing; Average viewership is up 31% from the Beijing Olympics (5.4 million) and up 37% from the Athens Olympics (5.2 million), the last European Summer Olympics.
MOST WATCHED WEEKDAY DAYTIME SHOW (NON-U.S. SUMMER OLYMPICS):
1. London – 2012 7.1 million 2. Barcelona – 1992 5.9 million 3. Seoul – 1988 5.5 million 4. Beijing – 2008 5.4 million 5. Athens – 2004 5.2 million 6. Sydney – 2000 3.3 million LONDON OLYMPICS NOW THE 2nd MOST-WATCHED EVENT IN U.S. TELEVISION HISTORY: With 212.7 million total viewers, the London Olympics now stands as the second most-watched event in U.S. television history behind only the Beijing Olympics (215 million). After 15 days, Beijing’s total audience number was 208.7 million viewers. The London Games surpassed the Atlanta Games (209 million) on Thursday.
THROUGH 15 NIGHTS IN PRIMETIME – BEST VIEWERSHIP FOR NON-U.S. SUMMER GAMES IN 36 YEARS: Through the first 15 days, the London Olympics has averaged 31.5 million viewers in primetime, making it the most-watched non-U.S. Summer Olympics since the Montreal Olympics in 1976.
- The 15-day average primetime viewership of 31.5 million viewers is 3.4 million more viewers than the first 15 nights from Beijing (28.1 million) and 6.2 million more than the first 15 nights from Athens (25.3 million).
- The 15-night average household rating of 17.8/30 is 8% higher than the first 15 nights from Beijing (16.5/28), and 15% higher than the first 15 nights from Athens (15.5/27), the last European Summer Olympics.
Friday night’s primetime coverage of the London Olympics on NBC drew an average of 22.5 million viewers, the most-watched second Friday of competition for non-U.S. Summer Olympics since the 1988 Seoul Olympics (23.5 million). Last night marked the 14th time in 15 nights that the average viewership for the London Olympics surpassed the Beijing Olympics.
Friday night’s coverage, which featured the U.S. women winning gold in the 4×100 meters and the U.S. men taking silver in the 4×400 meters, drew 22.5 million viewers, topping the comparable night from the Beijing Olympics by 26 percent (17.9 million) and the Athens Olympics (20.1 million) by 12 percent.
- The 26% margin over Beijing Friday night marked the biggest viewership advantage for of any night of the London Olympics vs. Beijing.
Friday night’s primetime coverage on NBC (9-11:14 p.m. ET/PT) earned a 13.2/24 national rating/share, up 23% vs. comparable night from Beijing (10.7/19), and up 6% over Athens (12.5/23), the last European Olympics.
# # #
15-DAY METERED MARKET AVERAGE (ALL 56 METERED MARKETS):
1. Salt Lake City 25.6/45 2. Kansas City 23.1/38 3. Milwaukee 22.8/38 4. Denver 22.6/43 5. Columbus, OH 22.4/37 6. Norfolk 21.9/34 7. Indianapolis 21.5/37 8. San Diego 21.3/38 9. Richmond 21.1/33 10. West Palm Beach 21.0/35 11. Albuquerque-Santa Fe 20.8/35 12. Portland, OR 20.5/42 13. Minneapolis-St. Paul 20.3/39 14. Oklahoma City 20.2/32 T15. Washington 20.1/37 T15. Sacramento-Stockton 20.1/37 T17. Atlanta 20.0/33 T17. Nashville 20.0/31 T17. Austin, TX 20.0/36 20. Ft. Myers-Naples 19.9/35 21. San Francisco 19.8/40 22. St. Louis 19.6/33 23. Los Angeles 19.1/35 24. New Orleans 19.0/27 T25. Chicago 18.7/33 T25. Phoenix 18.7/32 T25. Tulsa 18.7/30 T28. Greensboro-High Point 18.6/30 T28. Knoxville 18.6/30 T30. Cleveland 18.5/31 T30. Jacksonville 18.5/29 T32. New York 18.4/31 T32. Seattle-Tacoma 18.4/37 34. Louisville 18.3/31 T35. Orlando-Daytona Beach 18.1/32 T35. Cincinnati 18.1/30 37. Philadelphia 17.9/30 38. Dallas-Ft. Worth 17.8/31 T39. Detroit 17.7/29 T39. Baltimore 17.7/29 T39. San Antonio 17.7/28 42. Memphis 17.6/27 43. Pittsburgh 17.4/30 44. Houston 17.2/30 T45. Boston 17.1/32 T45. Birmingham, Alabama 17.1/25 47. Buffalo 17.0/29 48. Las Vegas 16.9/29 T49. Hartford-New Haven 16.8/28 T49. Greenville-Spartanburg 16.8/27 51. Miami-Ft. Lauderdale 16.4/27 52. Tampa-St. Petersburg 16.1/29 T53. Providence-New Bedford, RI 16.0/28 T53. Dayton 16.0/26 55. Raleigh-Durham 15.3/25 56. Charlotte 14.3/25 HIGHEST RATED BY TIME ZONE (THROUGH 15 DAYS):
Mountain 20.7/36 Pacific 19.4/37 Central 19.1/32 Eastern 18.2/31
That’s going to do it.
