The estimate of 1 billion viewers for the Team USA/China game on Sunday may actually be as unbelievable as it sounds.
The Wall Street Journal‘s Carl Bialik reports that the ratings from the United States and China indicate the game fell well short of the lofty estimates cited everywhere from this site to SportsCenter. At least in the U.S. and China, far fewer than one billion viewers tuned into Saturday’s Team USA victory.
In the U.S., the game drew 11.5 million viewers, a large audience for a basketball game, especially considering the 10 AM start time. The 11.5 million viewers is among the largest audiences for a basketball game this year, behind only six NBA and four college basketball games.
In China, AGB Nielsen reports the game drew 37 million viewers on CCTV2, with 89 million watching all or part of the telecast. According to Nielsen’s figures, the game did not even draw the biggest audience of the day, as 53 million viewers tuned into to watch Chinese weightlifter Long Qingquan win the gold at the Men’s 56kg Final.
However, CSM Media Research reports an average of 94 million viewers for the game, with 184 million watching all or part of the telecast.
Overall, the combined average audience in the US and China still falls short of the projected 1 billion viewer threshold. And considering that audiences in the U.S. and China understandably had the most interest in watching the game, it is unlikely the rest of the worldwide audience watched in large enough numbers to boost the viewership to 1 billion.
