or


[08/18/08 - 02:17 PM]
Olympics Mid-Games Report: NBC's Beijing Success Boosts Viewership Across All NBC Universal Platforms
NBC spins the numbers for Sunday, August 17.

[via press release from NBC]

OLYMPICS MID-GAMES REPORT: NBC's BEIJING SUCCESS BOOSTS VIEWERSHIP ACROSS ALL NBC UNIVERSAL PLATFORMS

Olympic Coverage Boosts NBCU Cable Viewership; NBC "Nightly News" & "Today" Increase Leads over Competition

NBCOlympics.com on MSN Serves 40.7 Million Video Streams, More Than 750 Million Page Views, More than 36 Million Uniques

BEIJING - Aug. 19, 2008 - More than 196 million viewers have watched the Beijing Olympics on the networks of NBC Universal through the first 10 days, already making it the fourth most watched television event in U.S. history, only behind the complete totals of the 1996 Atlanta (209 million), 1994 Lillehammer (204 million) and 2004 Athens (203 million) Games. The 196 million through 10 days is 11 million more than the first ten days for Athens (185 million) and three million more than the Atlanta Games (193 million), which was the most viewed television event in U.S. history. The ten-day total for these Games now surpasses the final overall viewership totals for the Barcelona Games (192 million) in 1992 and the Seoul Games (194 million) in 1988.

The Beijing Olympic 10-day average primetime viewership is 29.8 million, 14 percent ahead of Athens in 2004 (26.2 million). NBC's average of 17.2 rating/30 share is the best through the second Sunday for a Summer Olympics outside the U.S. since Barcelona in 1992 (18.6/35) and is a nine percent jump from Athens in 2004 (15.8/28).

NBC Universal's 3,600 hours of Beijing Olympic coverage is not only fueling record-breaking Olympic viewership, but also casting an Olympic "halo" across the many different divisions of NBC Universal. The unprecedented Olympic coverage has driven record numbers of viewers to NBCU's cable networks; it has also produced impressive gains in viewership and competitive advantage for "NBC Nightly News," NBC News' "Today," and NBC's affiliated stations. NBCOlympics.com has had a record number of page views, unique users and video streams, surpassing its total number from the entire Torino and Athens Games combined.

Sunday night garnered 75 million total viewers in primetime and 26.8 million average viewers, a three percent gain from the comparable night in Athens (26.0). The night earned a 15.8 rating/28 share, which is even with Athens' comparable night which featured three USA track & field gold medals.

Here is a rundown of how Beijing Olympics "halo effect" benefited the various divisions and dayparts of NBC Universal:

"TODAY" AND NIGHTLY NEWS DOMINATE THE COMPETITION: Preliminary affiliate time period data indicates that TODAY will have its highest delivery since the Torino Games in February, 2006 (2/13/06) as well as its best advantage over GMA since the week of the 2000 Presidential election (11/6/00). "Nightly News" is on track for its best advantage over the competition since the week of the Brokaw/Williams transition (11/29/04).

NBC CABLE: Through Sunday, Aug, 17, Olympics coverage on the cable networks of NBC Universal has reached 73.3 million average viewers, up 31 percent from August 2007 (56 million) and up 30 percent from the Athens Games.

USA NETWORK: Through Friday, Aug. 15, the Olympics on USA Network are averaging 960,000 viewers, up 39 percent from the same time periods in Aug. 2007, up 31 percent from the prior four-week viewer delivery before the Games and up 20 percent from the 2004 Athens Games.

MSNBC: Through Friday, Aug. 15, the Olympics on MSNBC are averaging 650,000 viewers, up 145 percent from the same time periods in Aug. 2007, up 137 percent from the prior four-week viewer delivery before the Games and up 22 percent from the 2004 Athens Games.

CNBC: Through Friday, Aug. 15, the Olympics on CNBC from 5-8pm are averaging 606,000 million viewers, up 143 percent from the same time periods in Aug. 2007, up 165 percent from the prior four-week viewer delivery before the Games and identical to the 2004 Athens Games.

OXYGEN: Through Friday, Aug. 15, the Olympics on Oxygen are averaging 658,000 viewers, up 190 percent from the same time periods in Aug. 2007, up 141 percent from the prior four-week viewer delivery before the Games. The week of August 11 saw Oxygen's highest ever delivery for the M-F 6-8pm Olympic time period.

TELEMUNDO: Through Sunday, Aug. 17, Olympic coverage to-date on Telemundo has reached 12 million unique viewers, up 12 percent from the Athens Games. The Olympics on Telemundo are averaging nearly a quarter-million million viewers, up 88 percent from the same time periods in Aug. 2007 and up 87 percent from the prior four-week viewer delivery before the Games.

OLYMPICS POWERS NBC AFFILIATED STATIONS TO NO. 1:

For the Olympic period (August 8-17) every NBC affiliate in the metered markets ranks No.1 in their market on a total day (5a-5a) basis. Local News ratings for NBC's metered market affiliates have shown significant increases from the prior four-week viewer delivery before the Games.

5-6am up 69%

6-7am up 35%

5-6pm up 23%

6-6:30pm up 27%

Late news up 67% despite the start times significantly later than normal.

OLYMPIC ZONE VIEWERSHIP INCREASES: "Olympic Zone" is a partnership between NBC Olympics and NBC affiliated stations. The 30-minute show airs prior to NBC's primetime Olympic coverage and is showing significant ratings increases for many markets vs. the prior four-week ratings. The markets showing the biggest increases are:

1. San Francisco up 404%

2. Los Angeles up 395%

3. Miami up 336%

4. Atlanta up 288%

5. New York up 220%

"ACCESS HOLLYWOOD" UP 29% ON NBC AFFILIATED STATIONS: NBC Universal's syndicated 30-minute newsmagazine "Access Hollywood," with co-host Billy Bush anchoring from Beijing, airing preceding NBC's primetime coverage of the Torino Games, shows a ratings increase of 29 percent on NBC affiliated stations compared to four-week period prior to the Olympics.

NBCOLYMPICS.COM ON MSN DRAWS MORE VIDEO STREAMS AND PAGE VIEWS THAN ATHENS AND TORINO COMBINED: Through the first 10 days of the Beijing Games, NBCOlympics.com has already generated 754.3 million page views, nearly 200 million more than the combined totals for the entire 17 days of the Torino and Athens Games (561.1 million).

� The 40.7 million video streams on the site are nearly four times the combined Torino and Athens total of 10.8 million.

� 36 million unique visitors to the site since the start of the Games are 42 percent higher than the total monthly unique visitors for the entire Torino and Athens Games combined.

� NBC Olympics mobile WAP site has amassed 21.4 million page views.





  [august 2008]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
     


· SHOWATCH
(series past and present)
· DEVWATCH
(series in development)
· MOVIEWATCH
(tv movies and mini-series)





most recent ratings | view all posts
[11/06/26 - 10:56 AM]
ABC News Wins Across Sunday Morning, Friday Night and Late-Night
"20/20: Justice for Faith" ranked as Friday's No. 1 newsmagazine in Adults 25-54 (437,000) and Adults 18-49 (341,000) on October 30.

[11/05/26 - 09:30 AM]
"Yaga" Is the #1 Exclusive Series Launch in the History of AMC+
The series also charted as the #1 social drama across all U.S. TV and streaming on its premiere day.

[11/04/26 - 03:37 PM]
Bears-Seahawks Draws 16.4M Viewers, Becomes Most-Watched ESPN-Only "Monday Night Football" Game Since 2019
Bears-Seahawks is also "Monday Night Football's" third most-watched Week 8 game of the ESPN era (2006-present).

[11/04/26 - 12:31 PM]
"Saturday Night Live" Hits Season High with Host Inde Navarrette and Musical Guest Gracie Abrams
It was also the top Peacock performance of the season and best since March 14, 2026, with host and musical guest Harry Styles.

[11/04/26 - 11:01 AM]
Top 10 Most-Watched Prime Original Films & Series for the Week of October 26
"The Terminal List," "Carrie," "Reacher," "Neagley," and "Helluva Boss" led all original series worldwide.

[11/03/26 - 03:01 PM]
USA Sports Delivers Most-Watched WNBA Playoff Game Ever; 3.3 Million Viewers Watch Valkyries Win Title in First-Ever Game 7
Viewership was up 128% vs. the 2025 WNBA Finals deciding game (LV-PHX Game 4).

[11/03/26 - 02:42 PM]
"College GameDay" Continues Historic Run Over Halloween at IU, ABC Takes Top Spot and Delivers Three of Top Five Most-Watched Games
ESPN topped all networks in Week 9, with ABC delivering three of the week's five most-watched games and winning the noon and afternoon windows.

[11/03/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of October 26 - "Lupin" Part 4 Captures the No. 1 Spot in This Week's Top 10
"The One About Matthew Perry" debuted in the No. 1 spot on the English TV list, gathering 9.5 million views.

[11/03/26 - 11:01 AM]
CBS Up +12% from Its Week #2 Last Year - Network Places 14 of the Top 20 Series; Top Two Comedies; Top Three New Series
CBS episodes topped the Nielsen live plus 7-days of multiplatform viewership for the week of October 12-18.

[10/31/26 - 10:48 AM]
USA Sports Delivers 1.5 Million Viewers for Valkyries-Dream Game 6 Thursday Matinee
USA Sports' Game 6 coverage delivered the fifth most-watched WNBA Finals game on cable on record.

[10/30/26 - 08:57 AM]
ABC News Wins Across Friday Night, Sunday Morning and Late-Night
"20/20: Help Dale Find Dee" ranked as Friday's No. 1 newsmagazine in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54, and Adults 18-49.

[10/29/26 - 03:25 PM]
Champions at Last: 14.2 Million Viewers Projected for FOX Sports' Coverage of Milwaukee Brewers World Series Clinch
13,476,000 viewers tuned in for World Series Game 4 presented by Capital One across FOX and FOX Deportes.

[10/29/26 - 12:21 PM]
ABC Thursday Returns Strong with "9-1-1" and "9-1-1: Nashville" Rising Over Previous Season Averages
The Season 10 debut of "9-1-1" (8 p.m.) earned 8.14 million Total Viewers after seven days of viewing on ABC, Hulu, Hulu on Disney+ and digital platforms, based on Nielsen's competitive multiplatform measurement.

[10/28/26 - 03:31 PM]
Cowboys-Eagles on "Monday Night Football" Delivers 18.8M Viewers
Seven weeks into ESPN's Super Bowl LXI season, "Monday Night Football" is up 26% compared to the same point in 2025, averaging 19M viewers.

[10/28/26 - 11:30 AM]
"The Drew Barrymore Show" Hits All-Time Series High
This season to date, "The Drew Barrymore Show" averaged 1.90 million total viewers, up +36% year over year.