Nearing the halfway point of the Olympics, NBC’s primetime window continues to trail previous Summer Games.
Primetime coverage of the Rio Summer Olympics earned a 13.7 final rating and 24.0 million viewers on NBC Friday night, down 15% in ratings and 16% in viewership from London in 2012 (16.2, 28.5M) and down 11% and 8%, respectively, from Beijing in 2008 (15.4, 26.1M). Versus the same night of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, ratings and viewership both increased 26% from a 10.9 and 19.1 million.
Friday’s telecast delivered the second-lowest rating and viewership of the Rio Olympics, ahead of only the first night of competition last Saturday (11.4, 20.6M). The first Friday of the Summer Olympics is usually a weaker television draw, owing to depressed viewing levels on Friday nights and the fact that Olympic ratings tend to fall off as gymnastics and swimming wind down.
Even so, Friday marked the third time in eight nights that the Olympics has failed to draw a 14.0 rating — matching the total of the complete 17-night London Games. The 13.7 is the lowest for the first Friday of a Summer Olympics since at least 1984.
Ratings also hit a low among adults 18-49, as NBC’s 6.4 rating marked a 26% decline from 2012 (8.7), a 25% drop from 2008 (8.5), and the lowest demo rating for the first Friday of any Summer Olympics since at least 1992.
Figures do not include the live streaming audience on NBCOlympics.com or cable viewership on NBCSN (1.6M) or Bravo (308K). With those numbers included, the NBC family of networks combined for a 15.0 rating and 26.0 million viewers Friday night — still below London and Beijing, but ahead of Athens (14.4, 23.7M).
The NBC telecast was measured from 8-11:08 PM ET/PT, a period that included live swimming and track and field, but not the live beach volleyball that capped off the night. Coverage on Bravo ran through 8:45 PM ET, while NBCSN’s time window was not immediately available.
Locally, Salt Lake City led all markets with a 19.8 rating, with Indianapolis a close second (19.7). San Diego (18.9), Nashville (17.7) and Norfolk, VA (17.5) rounded out the top five. Local numbers for the comparable night four years ago were not available.
For posterity, Friday’s primetime window had a 15.9 rating in the metered markets, not including coverage on NBCSN (1.2) or Bravo (0.2).
(Fri. numbers from NBC Sports, with additional info from ShowBuzz Daily)
