From the no-surprise department, NBC easily won Thursday night on the strength of the Olympics.
NBC averaged a 16.9/28 overnight rating and 27.95 million viewers in prime time (8-11 PM) for coverage of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Those numbers do not include coverage of the high-profile gymnastics all-around, which aired after 11 PM.
Prime time viewership peaked with 36.0 million viewers during the 10:30-11 PM half hour. Again, this does not include any coverage beyond 11 PM last night.
Not surprisingly, NBC’s coverage of the Olympics completely obliterated the NFL on FOX. FOX averaged a 2.4/4 overnight and 3.5 million viewers for the night, which includes the Eagles/Panthers preseason game and an impromptu re-run of Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? that aired during an hour-long thunderstorm delay. FOX finished third for the night, behind NBC and CBS.
