After a sluggish start, the Olympics has begun to draw the kind of eye-popping numbers that one would expect.
Primetime coverage of the Rio Summer Olympics earned a 19.2 overnight rating on NBC Monday night, down 5% from London in 2012 (20.1), down 9% from Beijing in 2008 (21.2), and the lowest for the first Monday of the Olympics since at least Sydney in 2000. Versus the comparable night of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, overnights increased 40% from a 13.7.
The 19.2 overnight is the highest of the Olympics thus far, and the single-digit declines from 2012 and 2008 are easily the narrowest. Concurrent primetime coverage on NBCSN (1.2) and Bravo (0.6) combined for a 1.8 overnight, wiping out the shortfall from London and nearly doing so for Beijing.
The 19.2 is also the highest for any sports program since the Super Bowl, topping Game 7 of the NBA Finals in June (18.9).
Locally, Salt Lake City topped Monday’s markets with a 23.5 rating — down 15% from 2012 (27.5). Denver ranked second with a 22.7 (-12%) and Kansas City third at a 22.1 (-14%). Minneapolis-St. Paul (21.7) and Richmond, VA (20.8) rounded out the top five.
(Mon. numbers from NBC Sports)
