While the Rio Olympics has struggled on NBC, the United States men’s basketball and women’s soccer teams gave NBCSN a lift.
Saturday’s United States/China Olympic men’s basketball game earned 3.8 million viewers on NBCSN, up 46% from the team’s opener against France in 2012 (2.6M). Keep in mind this year’s game aired in a much stronger timeslot (6 PM ET) than in 2012 (9:30 AM).
The 57-point blowout, which peaked in the first quarter-hour at 4.3 million viewers, topped all seven USA men’s basketball games on NBCSN four years ago. The top draw was 3.3 million for USA/Argentina in group play.
Earlier in the day, the USA/France women’s soccer match scored 2.9 million viewers — up 19% from the team’s second match in 2012 against Colombia (2.5M).
Aided by basketball and soccer, NBCSN averaged 1.8 million viewers for Saturday’s full day of Olympic coverage — up 65% from the comparable day in 2012 (1.1M). This year’s telecast ran from 9 AM to Midnight ET, while the 2012 window ran from 4 AM-8 PM.
(Sat. numbers from NBC Sports Group Press Box)
