NBC is averaging a 14.3 final rating (26.7 million viewers) for its primetime Rio Games telecasts through Sunday night, marking the net’s lowest figure since the ’04 Athens Games (14.1 rating). The three-night average is down 26% from a 19.2 rating (35.8 million viewers) during the same period at the ’12 London Games. While broadcast TV viewership is down, NBC continues to see success with its digital telecasts. Sunday marked the best day ever for the NBC Olympics digital platforms, with 231 million live and replay streaming minutes and 12.2 million unique users. Through Sunday, there have been 532 million live streams. There have been some highlights on the broadcast side for NBC. NBCSN on Sunday from 11:00am-12:30pm ET averaged 1.7 million viewers for the U.S.-Senegal women’s basketball game, topping viewership for any women’s hoops game on the cable net involving Team USA at the ’12 London Games. Bravo on Sunday from 9:30am-10:07pm averaged 624,000 viewers for tennis coverage, up 42% from the comparable day in ’12. Coverage peaked from 6:45-7:00pm as Venus and Serena Williams were eliminated in first-round doubles play (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor).
|
PRIMETIME OLYMPIC RATINGS ON NBC
|
|
|
DAY
|
RIO
|
LONDON
|
BEIJING
|
ATHENS
|
SYDNEY
|
ATLANTA
|
|
Opening Ceremony
|
Fri.
|
13.9
|
21.0
|
18.8
|
14.6
|
16.2
|
23.6
|
|
Night 2
|
Sat.
|
11.4
|
15.8
|
13.9
|
11.8
|
13.1
|
17.2
|
|
Night 3
|
Sun.
|
16.1
|
19.8
|
18.1
|
15.4
|
14.6
|
22.9
|
|
3-Night Avg.
|
14.3
|
19.2
|
17.1
|
14.1
|
14.5
|
21.4
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
GOOD TRIUMPHS OVER BAD: The AP's David Bauder notes U.S. swimmer
Lilly King's victory over Russia's Yulia Efimova in the 100-meter breaststroke yesterday was "portrayed by NBC as a victory of clean sportsmanship over cheating." King made "no secret of her disapproval of Efimova, both in interviews and body language, and NBC ran with the narrative." Analyst Rowdy Gaines called King's victory a "statement win" for the rest of the world. King in a postrace interview with NBC's Michele Tafoya said that she "hoped to send a message 'that we can still compete clean and do well at the Olympic Games and that's how it should be.'" Bauder notes if NBC "made an effort to get Efimova's side of the story after her silver medal winning race, it wasn't apparent to viewers" (
AP, 8/9).
TRIED & TRUE: In L.A., Mike Tierney notes what might never change from Olympic coverage is the "formula for the prime-time telecasts." Tierney: "Why mess with success? Viewers, by and large, have bought in an have not requested a refund." Through the first weekend of primetime coverage, it has been "difficult to distinguish NBC's game plan in Rio" from London, Beijing or Athens. The consistency is "embodied by the smooth, authoritative voice of host Bob Costas." From the venues, the play-by-play announcers, "especially Dan Hicks on swimming, have been rock-solid and the analysts mostly knowledgeable, if overcaffeinated" (L.A. TIMES, 8/9). Meanwhile, in S.F., Bruce Jenkins writes NBC thinks it is a great idea to "build around the conclusion that every Olympics fan reaches an energetic peak near midnight." Jenkins: "I've talked to countless folks who wait four years for this, only to be gravely disappointed by the 8 p.m. start. And please, start the show at 7 p.m. on both coasts, it not 6:30" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 8/9).
ADDRESSING CONTROVERSIES: The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Louise Radnofsky noted NBC's Al Trautwig yesterday "apologized for controversial Twitter comments about the adoptive parents of U.S. gymnastics star Simone Biles." NBC issued a statement from Trautwig saying that he "regretted a tweet the previous night in which he said that Ms. Biles's adopted parents 'may be mom and dad but they are NOT her parents.'" Trautwig said that his tweet was a "reply to criticism about some of this on-air comments" about Biles. Radnofsky notes Biles and her sister started life as Ron and Nellie Biles' granddaughters, but the couple "legally adopted them" in '03 (WSJ.com, 8/8). The AP's Bauder reports "ordered Trautwig to delete the offending tweet" after adoption advocates "objected to the characterization." Meanwhile, after NBC’s Dan Hicks received “heat for referring to Hungarian swimmer Katinka Hosszu’s husband as ‘the guy responsible’ for her career resurgence,” he got a “do-over” last night. Hosszu won her second Gold Medal, and “cameras again found husband Shane Tusup.” Hicks “identified Tusup as ‘instrumental in the turnaround of his wife.’” Hosszu raced another time yesterday, in a semifinal, and this time NBC “wisely showed no pictures of Tusup” (AP, 8/9).
COMEDIC RELIEF: "SNL" cast member Leslie Jones is joining NBC's coverage of Rio as an on-air contributor. She will make her debut on Friday, attending live events and meeting athletes. Jones has been live-tweeting her Olympic viewing experience since the Games began, as well as her commentary and words of support for Team USA (NBC). RE/CODE's Kurt Wagner wondered "how valuable is someone like Jones tweeting about the Olympics." Wagner: "She's including video highlights in almost every one of her tweets, a move that would usually trigger some kind of removal request from NBC. ... So we can assume people of her caliber, tweeting and talking up the game, is good for NBC's coverage" (RECODE.net, 8/8). CNBC’s Kayla Tausche notes the news is "interesting" because Jones "quit Twitter a few weeks ago in the wake of being trolled by some not-so-nice people." But Jones is now "showing the lighter side of social media" ("Squawk Box,” CNBC, 8/9).
STIFF COMPETITION: USA TODAY's Blas & Levin report NBC's broadcast rivals "appear to be matching or increasing the hours of original prime-time programming" during that Rio Games that they aired against London. Viewers this week can find "new content most nights, though rival late-night talk shows are taking a breather." ABC Exec VP/Scheduling & Planning Andy Kubitz: "If you're in between events on NBC and are surfing, we want people to come to ABC with very few barriers to entry." Blas & Levin note Discovery Channel, History, Lifetime, A&E, Freeform, ESPN, Syfy, TLC and others are "sticking with ongoing originals." USA Network, while airing Olympics in daytime hours, is "showing new episodes of its original dramas and WWE wrestling in the evenings." USA Network President Chris McCumber said that the channel's "programming evolution makes it harder to air repeats during the Olympics" (USA TODAY, 8/9).
