TV Ratings: 18.6 Overnight For Olympics Wednesday Night (Also: Nationwide Series, Cincinnati Reds)

Posted by | 08/09/2012 at 1:57 pm

Overnight ratings rose once again for primetime coverage of the London Olympics. In other news, Saturday’s Nationwide Series race from Iowa hit a record low in viewership, and local ratings have risen by double-digits for the Cincinnati Reds.

  • Another Slight Rise in Overnights For Olympics: Tape delayed primetime coverage of the 2012 London Olympics drew an 18.6 overnight rating on NBC Wednesday night — up 3% from Beijing in 2008, according to Sports Business Daily. The 18.6 marks a 5% decline from primetime coverage one night earlier (19.6). (Sports Business Daily)
  • Record Low Viewership For Nationwide Series From Iowa: Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series U.S. Cellular 250 from Iowa drew a 0.8 U.S. rating and 1.079 million viewers on ESPN2, down 27% in ratings and 36% in viewership from last year (1.1, 1.682M). This marks the least-viewed edition of the four-year old race. Keep in mind the race aired opposite primetime coverage of the Olympics. (ESPN)
  • Reds Have Highest Rated Month Ever on FS Ohio: Cincinnati Reds telecasts have averaged an 8.7 rating on Fox Sports Ohio in the Cincinnati market, up 10% from last year, and the second-highest local rating in Major League Baseball. In the month of July, Reds telecasts averaged a 9.3, the highest single-month average ever for the team on FS Ohio. (cincinnati.com, foxsportsohio.com)
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  • ZabriskiePt

    Local numbers for Detroit Tigers and Cincinnati Reds are really pretty impressive. They show that, in those communities, a succesful Baseball team is considered so exciting that not even Olympics, which normally pull every other sport’s TV rating down, can ease the interest and the buzz surrounding MLB’s pennant and wild-card races. A very good sign for Baseball in a not-so-good year on national TV (I think Fox Saturday package is holding steady, but ESPN should be down), even though my impression is that games that count are drawing well (I’m very positive about Home-Run Derby and All-Star Game results). I believe Postseason will show this good trend with some teams in the mix, probably, which hasn’t been in October for a long long time and the exciting Wild-Card Games. Locally, Baseball confirms to be king, with huge numbers every day for six months.