The Olympic Games got off to its weakest start in years.
Tape delayed coverage of the Rio Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony earned a 13.9 final rating and 26.5 million viewers on NBC Friday night, down 34% in ratings and 35% in viewership from from London in 2012 (21.0, 40.7M) and down 26% and 24%, respectively, from Beijing in 2008 (18.8, 34.9M).
Compared to the Opening Ceremony of the most recent Olympics, the Sochi Winter Games in 2014, ratings sank 18% and viewership 16% from a 17.0 and 31.7 million.
Friday’s telecast ranks as the lowest rated Opening Ceremony of the Summer Olympics since Barcelona in 1992 (13.8) and the least-watched since Athens in 2004 (25.4M). Overall, it was the lowest in both measures since the Turin Winter Olympics in 2006 (12.8, 22.2M). Athens and Turin rank as the only Olympics since 1992 to earn a smaller audience for the Opening Ceremony.
In adults 18-49, the Opening Ceremony had a 7.5 rating — down 39% from 2012 (12.2) and down 27% from 2008 (10.3). The 7.5 is the lowest for the Opening Ceremony of any Olympics since Turin (6.5) and the lowest for a Summer Games since at least ’92.
Ratings declined by more than 30% in each of Friday’s top five television markets. West Palm Beach, FL, led all markets with an 18.5 rating, down 31% from 2012 (26.8). Denver ranked second with an 18.2, also down 31% (from 26.4). San Diego and Washington D.C. both posted a 17.8, down 36% and 34%, respectively, from 2012 (27.8 and 26.8). Salt Lake City rounded out the top five with a 17.3, down 35% (from 26.6).
To put the local numbers in perspective, at least 20 markets topped a 20.0 rating for the Opening Ceremony four years ago.
Compared to other sports, the Opening Ceremony earned the second-largest audience for any non-NFL sporting event this year. Game 7 of the NBA Finals holds the top spot with 31.0 million viewers. It edged the Alabama/Clemson college football national championship, which had 26.2 million.
(Fri. numbers from AP, additional info from Programming Insider)
