The Rio Olympics hit a 16-year ratings low on Wednesday night, even including cable and streaming numbers.
Primetime coverage of the Rio Summer Olympics earned a 15.1 final rating and 26.4 million viewers on NBC Wednesday night, down 16% in ratings and 14% in viewership from London in 2012 (17.9, 30.8M) and down 10% and 4%, respectively, from Beijing in 2008 (16.7, 27.7M). Ratings and viewership also trailed the comparable night from Athens in 2004 (17.3, 28.4M).
Versus the comparable night of the most recent Olympics, the Sochi Winter Games in 2014, ratings jumped 25% and viewership 27% from a 12.1 and 20.8 million.
Figures do not include the live streaming audience on NBCOlympics.com or concurrent cable viewership on NBCSN (1.9M). Bravo, which had been airing primetime tennis coverage, signed off at 5:30 PM ET as play was postponed due to rain. With the streaming and cable audiences included, the NBC family of networks scored a 16.5 rating and 28.6 million viewers Wednesday night — still no match for London in 2012. Furthermore, while viewership exceeded Beijing and Athens, 16.5 combined rating ranks as the lowest for the first Wednesday of the Summer Games since Sydney in 2000 (14.6).
NBC’s figures are for the 8-11:12 PM ET portion of its primetime window, which included live swimming and women’s beach volleyball, but not the taped men’s gymnastics that capped off the night. Figures for NBCSN are for the the 7 PM-12 AM window.
The NBC telecast had a 7.7 rating in adults 18-49, down 22% from London (9.9), down 18% from Beijing (9.4), and the lowest for the first Wednesday of the Summer Olympics since at least 1992.
Though soft by Olympic standards, Wednesday’s telecast earned one of the year’s largest sports audiences. Ratings and viewership exceeded that of college football’s national championship game in January (15.1 26.2M).
(Wed. numbers from NBC Sports Group Press Box)
