The final night of competition at the Rio Olympics was a historic ratings dud.
Primetime coverage of the Rio Summer Olympics earned a 9.0 final rating and 15.4 million viewers on NBC Saturday night, down 29% in ratings and viewership from London in 2012 (12.6, 21.8M) and down 13% and 8%, respectively, from Beijing in 2008 (10.3, 16.8M). Versus the same night of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, ratings increased 3% from an 8.7 and viewership 16% from 13.3 million.
The 9.0 rating is the lowest ever for the Summer Olympics on primetime broadcast television, falling below the previous mark of 10.3 for the comparable night in Beijing. Viewership was the lowest for any night of the Summer Games since at least 1992, falling below the previous mark of 15.5 million for the final Friday of the 2000 Sydney Games.
Including Winter Olympics, the 9.0 rating is the fifth-lowest for a primetime Olympics telecast, ahead of the last three nights of Sochi and the Closing Ceremony in Turin.
Even including cable and streaming, the combined rating on NBC, USA Network and NBCOlympics.com was a 9.6 — still the lowest ever for any night of any Summer Olympics. The combined viewership of 16.3 million was the lowest for any night of the Summer Games since the aforementioned final Friday in 2000.
Friday’s primetime coverage, a truncated 90-minute window that included Usain Bolt‘s final Olympic race, had an 11.6 and 20.1 million on NBC — down 12% in ratings and 11% in viewership from London (13.2, 22.4M) but up 8% and 12%, respectively, from Beijing (10.7, 17.9M). Compared to the same night in Sochi, ratings increased 32% (from 8.8) and viewership 35% (from 14.9M). It was the second night of the Olympics to post an increase in ratings and/or viewership compared to Beijing.
With cable and streaming included, the NBC networks combined for a 12.3 rating and 21.1 million viewers — still trailing London but ahead of Beijing. The combined audience was the second-largest for the final Friday of the Olympics since 1996 (23.6M), topping Beijing, Athens (20.1M) and Sydney.
On Friday, NBC’s coverage scored a 5.5 rating among adults 18-49, down 17% from London (6.6) and even with Beijing. On Saturday, it had a mere 3.8 in the demo, down 39% from 2012 (6.2) and down 25% from 2008 (5.1).
(Wknd. numbers from NBC Sports Group Press Box, with additional info from ShowBuzz Daily, Programming Insider)
