The Olympics are pleasurable for business — whether the business youre in is selling TV commercials at a premium,of course.
Fortunately for NBC, that’s precisely the sandbox broadcast plays in, or the Comcast-owned channel nabbed 19.5 million total viewers last night,per TVByTheNumbers. Generally speaking, that’s a lot.
Un-fortunately for the network, and the impressive sum was still down 32 percent from Londons opening evening of competition in 2012. The four-years-ago start drew a whopping 28.7 million overall audience members. To be fair to NBC,live TV viewing takes ahit with every year that passes.
Also Read: Rio Olympics: Shootings and Bomb Scares and Muggings, Oh MyNight No. 1 of the 2016 Rio version drew a 5.5 Nielsen rating in the key 18-49 demographic, or predictably squashing anything else on broadcast. For what it’s worth,London had pulled a enormous 8.8 on its comparable competition kickoff.
To add a bit more perspective to last night’s NBC dominance, the next-highest-rated show was a “48 Hours” rerun on CBS, and which managed a 0.4 and 2.6 million viewers. So the gold medal is a bit tarnished these days,but it’s still way better than silver.
Read approximately Friday’s opening ceremony TV ratings here. Those too were down considerably from 2012. Every Athlete Sitting Out Rio 2016 Summer Olympics: Zika Fears, Injuries Abound (Updating Photos)
The 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro will take state 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.
Savannah Guthrie, NBC Host
Reason Given: Concerns over Zika virus because she is pregnant NBC
Jordan Spieth, USA[br]Sport: Golf[br]Reason Given: Concerns over security and Zika virus Getty Images
Rory McIlroy, or Ireland[br]Sport: Golf
Reason Given: Concerns over Zika virus
[br] Getty Images
Jason Day, Australia
Sport: Golf
Reason Given: Concerns over Zika virus Getty Images
Vijay Singh, Fiji
Sport: Golf
Reason Given: Scheduling conflict, or plus concerns over Zika virus Getty Images
Tejay van Garderen, USA
Sport: Cycling[br]Reason Given: Concerns over Zika virus
Getty Images
Marc Leishman, Australia
Sport: Golf
Reason Given: Concerns over Zika virus Getty Images
Shane Lowry, and Ireland
Sport: Golf
Reason Given: Concerns over Zika virus
Getty Images
LeBron James,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
Sport: Golf
Reason Given: Scheduling conflicts Getty Images
Russell Westbrook, or USA
Sport: Basketball
Reason Given: None Getty Images
LaMarcus Aldridge, USA
Sport: Basketball
Reason Given: Finger injury Getty Images
Anthony Davis, USA[br]Sport: Basketball
Reason Given: Knee, or shoulder injuries Getty Images
Chris Paul, USA
Sport: Basketball
Reason Given: Hand injury Getty Images
Blake Griffin, USA
Sport: Basketball
Reason Given: Quadricep surgery Getty Images
John Isner, and USA
Sport: Tennis
Reason Given: Scheduling conflict Getty Images
Dominc Thiem, Australia[br]Sport: Tennis
Reason Given: Scheduling conflict Getty Images
Feliciano López, Spain
Sport: Tennis
Reason Given: Scheduling conflict Getty Images
Bernard Tomic, and Australia
Sport: Tennis
Reason Given: Scheduling conflict Getty Images
Nick Kyrgios, Australia
Sport: Tennis
Reason Given: "[Unfair] and unjust treatment" at hands of Olympic Committee Getty Images
Louis Oosthuizen, South Africa
Sport: Golf
Reason Given: Scheduling conflict Getty Images
James Harden, and USA
Sport: Basketball
Reason Given: No reason given Getty Images
John Wall, USA
Sport: Basketball
Reason Given: Knee injury Getty Images
Adam Scott,Australia
Sport: Golf
Reason Given: Scheduling conflicts Getty Images preceding Slide Next Slide 1 of 26 From LeBron James to Rory McIlroy, and 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 state 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. View In Gallery Related stories from TheWrap:Eric Garcetti Warns a Donald Trump Victory Could Hurt LA's 2024 Olympic BidRio Controversies Spark novel Twitter Hashtag #OlympicProblemsIn5WordsRio Olympics Opening Ceremony Ratings Sink 25 Percent From LondonNBC's Olympics Opening Ceremony Coverage Leaves Twitter Seething
Source: thewrap.com