Olympics down over London but still big for NBC

HOLLYWOOD (CNS) – NBC’s viewership for the second full week of the Rio
de Janeiro Olympics was 23.8 percent lower than the second full week of the
London Games four years ago, but nearly 2 1/2 times the combined amount of the
three other major broadcast networks.
NBC averaged 19.85 million viewers for its prime-time programming
between Aug. 15 and Sunday, according to live-plus-same-day figures released by
Nielsen today.
CBS was second, averaging 3.81 million viewers, followed by ABC, which
averaged 2.9 million. Fox averaged 1.39 million viewers to finish fourth among
the major broadcast networks for the 19th consecutive week and sixth overall,
behind cable’s Fox News Channel and the Spanish-language network Univision.
NBC has been the most-watched network for eight consecutive weeks, its
longest streak since an 18-week streak from the weeks of May 7-Sept. 1, 1997.
NBC’s 19 1/2 hours of programming for ratings purposes consisted of six
nights of Olympics coverage, the closing ceremony, “Rio Gold” Olympics
highlight show, the comedy “Superstore” and a half-hour auditions episode of
the singing competition “The Voice.”
NBC’s all-Olympics prime-time programming for the second full week of
the 2012 London Games averaged 26.06 million viewers.
Factors cited by NBC for the lower broadcast viewership is that these
are the first Summer Olympics in U.S. television history with broadcast network
coverage, including prime time, being streamed simultaneously on digital
platforms and cable coverage opposite the prime-time broadcast coverage.
Viewership was 29.7 percent less than the 28.23 million average for the
first full week of coverage of the Rio de Janeiro Games.
Viewership for the second full week of the Summer Olympics is
traditionally lower than the first full week, partially because many of the
most popular events, such as gymnastics and swimming, are concentrated in the
first full week.
NBC’s 10 programs swept the week’s top 10 most-watched programs, topped
by the Aug. 15 Olympics coverage which included track and field’s women’s 400
meters and women’s gymnastics vault competition, and averaged 24.22 million.
Sunday’s closing ceremony was sixth for the week, averaging 17.03
million, 45.1 percent less than the 31.01 million average for the 2012 closing
ceremony, the most-watched closing ceremony since 1996.
The Olympics-themed episode of “Superstore” was 10th for the week,
averaging 9.67 million, the most for a comedy on Friday since Feb. 6, 2004 when
ABC’s “Hope and Faith” averaged 10.83 million.
Just like it had been a week earlier, the week’s most-watched non-NBC
program was the CBS news magazine “60 Minutes,” 11th for the week, averaging
6.94 million viewers.
The most-watched cable program was the TNT crime drama “Rizzoli &
Isles,” which averaged 3.87 million viewers, 28th overall.
Fox News Channel was the most-watched cable network for the 10th time in
11 weeks, averaging 2.1 million. USA Network was second, averaging 1.36
million.
The week’s most-watched Spanish-language program was the Monday episode
of the Telemundo telenovela “Senora Acero 3: La Coyote” which averaged 2.08
million viewers, 57th overall.
As usual, Univision was the most-watched Spanish-language network,
averaging 1.61 million viewers. Telemundo was second, averaging 1.36 million,
followed by UniMas, which averaged 450,000, Estrella TV, which averaged
190,000, Azteca America, which averaged 110,000, and MundoMax, which averaged
70,000.
The “NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt” averaged 9.8 million viewers
to be the most-watched network nightly newscast for the sixth consecutive week.
ABC’s “World News Tonight with David Muir” was second, averaging 7.82
million. The “CBS Evening News” was third, as it has been throughout Scott
Pelley’s more than five years as anchor, averaging 6.3 million viewers.
The week’s 10 most-watched prime-time programs were NBC’s Monday,
Tuesday, Thursday, Wednesday and Friday Olympics telecasts, Sunday’s Olympics
closing ceremony, the “Rio Gold” Olympics highlights show, “The Voice” and
“Superstore.”