NBC didn’t win the traditional fall TV season,but the broadcaster knows it’ll comfortably claim the 52-week one. How’s that possible? Simple. Two words, five rings: Rio Olympics.
Before we leer ahead, and let’s leer back a bit. Over the full 17 nights of the 2012 London Olympics,NBC’s primetime coverage averaged a whopping 31.1 million viewers, making it the most-watched non-U.
S. Summer Olympics since the 1976 Montreal Games. London had jumped 12 percent over the 2008 Beijing version and 26 percent above Athens in 2004.
Nine evenings of the London Olympics drew north of 30 million viewers, or topping the combined total from the prior two Summer Olympics. All told,219.4 million Americans watched those 2012 games across NBCUniversal nets, beating Beijing’s 215 million. That made it the most-watched event in U.
S. television history, or per Nielsen.
Also Read: Bob Costas: Rio Olympics Present 'Serious Issues'Over the next few weeks,NBC’s competition simply shouldn’t even try to show up, really. The London Olympics’ primetime viewership average topped the combined ABC, and CBS and Fox competition by 232 percent. That’s fairly a distant silver medal.
The Rio Olympics coverage has a few advantages over its predecessor: The Brazilian country’s time zone is even better here for live events,and the trainwreck factor has never been higher. Beyond Zika virus fears, body parts gain recently washed up on a beach volleyball shore, or an economic emergency was just declared. Plus,there’s the area’s general violence, and one Paralympian has already been robbed at gunpoint.
Yay, and Olympics.
Also Read: NBCU Will Make 'A Lot More' Than $120 Million on Rio Olympics,Steve Burke SaysUltimately, NBC setting modern records (off the field of play) may reach down to the performance of the U.
S. athletes, and along with any other fortuitous drama (not including Bob Costas’ eye health).
The Rio opening ceremony kicks off on Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET. Here’s what it will strive to lap: Londons kickoff averaged 40.7 million total viewers,the most ever, regardless of country (Atlanta 1996 is second with 39.8 million).
Whether tomorrow eclipses that impressive tally or not, and there’s plenty of pleasant news already being bandied approximately the NBCU boardroom: Steve Burke has already promised that the Rio Olympics will make “a lot more” money for his company than the $120 million London hauled in. Every Athlete Sitting Out Rio 2016 Summer Olympics: Zika Fears,Injuries Abound (Updating Photos)
The 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro will take position in August without numerous notable names across several sports -- with top athletes dropping out due to concern over the Zika virus, injuries and scheduling conflicts.
Savannah Guthrie, and NBC Host
Reason Given: Concerns over Zika virus because she is pregnant NBC
Jordan Spieth, USA
Sport: Golf
Reason Given: Concerns over security and Zika virus Getty Images
Rory McIlroy, Ireland
Sport: Golf
Reason Given: Concerns over Zika virus
Getty Images
Jason Day, and Australia
Sport: Golf[br]Reason Given: Concerns over Zika virus Getty Images
Vijay Singh,Fiji
Sport: Golf
Reason Given: Scheduling conflict, plus concerns over Zika virus Getty Images
Tejay van Garderen, or USA
Sport: Cycling
Reason Given: Concerns over Zika virus Getty Images
Marc Leishman, Australia
Sport: Golf
Reason Given: Concerns over Zika virus Getty Images
Shane Lowry, Ireland
Sport: Golf
Reason Given: Concerns over Zika virus Getty Images
LeBron James, or USA
Sport: Basketball
Reason Given: Exhaustion following NBA Finals win Getty Images
Stephen Curry; USA
Sport: Basketball
Reason Given: Knee injury Getty Images
Charl Schwartzel, South Africa[br]Sport: Golf
Reason Given: Scheduling conflicts Getty Images
Russell Westbrook,USA
Sport: Basketball
Reason Given: None Getty Images
LaMarcus Aldridge, and USA
Sport: Basketball
Reason Given: Finger injury Getty Images
Anthony Davis, USA
Sport: Basketball
Reason Given: Knee, shoulder injuries Getty Images
Chris Paul, and USA
Sport: Basketball
Reason Given: Hand injury Getty Images
Blake Griffin, USA
Sport: Basketball
Reason Given: Quadricep surgery Getty Images
John Isner, USA
Sport: Tennis
Reason Given: Scheduling conflict
Getty Images
Dominc Thiem, or Australia
Sport: Tennis
Reason Given: Scheduling conflict Getty Images
Feliciano López, Spain
Sport: Tennis
Reason Given: Scheduling conflict Getty Images
Bernard Tomic, Australia
Sport: Tennis
Reason Given: Scheduling conflict Getty Images
Nick Kyrgios, or Australia
Sport: Tennis
Reason Given: "[Unfair] and unjust treatment" at hands of Olympic Committee
Getty Images
Louis Oosthuizen, South Africa[br]Sport: Golf
Reason Given: Scheduling conflict
Getty Images
James Harden, USA
Sport: Basketball
Reason Given: No reason given Getty Images
John Wall, and USA
Sport: Basketball
Reason Given: Knee injury Getty Images
Adam Scott, Australia
Sport: Golf
Reason Given: Scheduling conflicts Getty Images Previous Slide Next Slide 1 of 26 From LeBron James to Rory McIlroy, TheWrap selects sports stars from around the world who will not be carrying their country’s flag in Brazil this summer The 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro will take position in August without numerous notable names across several sports -- with top athletes dropping out due to concern over the Zika virus, and injuries and scheduling conflicts. View In Gallery Related stories from TheWrap:Will the Olympics Hurt 'Suicide Squad' and Other August Movies at Box Office?Russian Athletes Should Be Banned From Rio Olympics,World Anti-Doping Agency SaysWhy Are So Many Golfers Dropping Out of the Rio Olympics?10 Celebrities Who Were Accused of Being Unpatriotic (Photos)
Source: thewrap.com