Salt Lake City was the top-rated U.S. market for NBC’s primetime coverage during the London Games, marking the seventh straight Olympics the city has been at the top of the list. Salt Lake City averaged a 25.0 rating for London, up 8% from its average during the '08 Beijing Games. Denver tied Salt Lake City in ’08 for the lead among all markets, but finished ranked fourth for London. Denver’s 22.1 rating was down 4% from Beijing. K.C. ranked second for London with a 22.5 rating after not ranking in the top 10 for Beijing. Milwaukee, Norfolk, West Palm Beach and Richmond also made the top 10 after missing out four years ago. Two North Carolina markets -- Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham -- ranked last among all U.S. markets for London. The chart below lists local ratings over the 17 nights of NBC primetime Olympic coverage during the London Games (Austin Karp, THE DAILY).
|
U.S. LOCAL MARKET RATINGS FOR
NBC'S PRIMETIME OLYMPIC COVERAGE
|
|
RK
|
MARKET |
RAT.
|
RK
|
MARKET |
RAT.
|
|
1
|
Salt Lake City |
25.0
|
26t
|
Knoxville |
18.2
|
|
2
|
K.C. |
22.5
|
26t
|
Tulsa |
18.2
|
|
3
|
Milwaukee |
22.3
|
31t
|
Cleveland-Akron |
18.1
|
|
4
|
Denver |
22.1
|
31t
|
Jacksonville |
18.1
|
|
5
|
Columbus (OH) |
21.9
|
33t
|
Seattle-Tacoma |
17.9
|
|
6
|
Norfolk |
21.2
|
33t
|
Louisville |
17.9
|
|
7
|
Indianapolis |
20.9
|
35
|
Orlando-Daytona Beach |
17.8
|
|
8t
|
San Diego |
20.8
|
36
|
Cincinnati |
17.7
|
|
8t
|
West Palm Beach |
20.8
|
37
|
Philadelphia |
17.6
|
|
10
|
Richmond |
20.6
|
38
|
Dallas-Ft. Worth |
17.4
|
|
11
|
Albuquerque-Santa Fe |
20.3
|
39t
|
Detroit |
17.3
|
|
12
|
Portland (OR) |
20.0
|
39t
|
San Antonio |
17.3
|
|
13
|
Minneapolis-St. Paul |
19.9
|
41
|
Memphis |
17.2
|
|
14
|
Oklahoma City |
19.8
|
42
|
Baltimore |
17.1
|
|
15t
|
Atlanta |
19.7
|
43
|
Pittsburgh |
16.9
|
|
15t
|
Austin |
19.7
|
44
|
Boston |
16.8
|
|
17t
|
S.F.-Oakland-San Jose |
19.6
|
45t
|
Houston |
16.7
|
|
17t
|
DC |
19.6
|
45t
|
Hartford-New Haven |
16.7
|
|
17t
|
Sacramento |
19.6
|
47t
|
Birmingham |
16.6
|
|
20
|
Nashville |
19.4
|
47t
|
Buffalo |
16.6
|
|
21
|
Ft. Myers-Naples |
19.4
|
49
|
Las Vegas |
16.5
|
|
22
|
St. Louis |
19.0
|
50
|
Greenville-Spartanburg |
16.2
|
|
23
|
L.A. |
18.8
|
51
|
Miami-Ft. Lauderdale |
16.1
|
|
24
|
New Orleans |
18.5
|
52t
|
Tampa-St. Petersburg |
15.8
|
|
25
|
Greensboro |
18.4
|
52t
|
Providence-New Bedford |
15.8
|
|
26t
|
N.Y. |
18.2
|
52t
|
Dayton |
15.8
|
|
26t
|
Chicago |
18.2
|
55
|
Raleigh-Durham |
14.9
|
|
26t
|
Phoenix |
18.2
|
56
|
Charlotte |
13.9
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
MARKET WATCH: In Milwaukee, Bob Wolfley writes WTMJ-NBC had an “average rating of 22.3 or 202,394 households.” A total of 37% of TV sets "on at the time locally during those nights were tuned to the Olympics.” The “lowest-rated night here was Thursday, when the Olympics went up against” a Packers-Chargers preseason game on ESPN and WISN-ABC (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 8/14). In Houston, David Barron notes the market “traditionally has been a drag on NBC viewership, and the local market's average prime-time rating of 16.7 once again trailed the national average.” But the ratings were up 8% from a 15.4 rating in '08, and tied for 45th among the 56 major markets, "up from 54th four years ago.” KRPC-NBC GM Jerry Martin said that “viewership in prime time exceeded the station's pre-Olympics estimate to advertisers" by 5% and the late-night average “exceeded local estimates by 33 percent, and the overnight replay of the prime-time broadcast topped estimates by 38 percent” (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 8/14). The DETROIT NEWS reports the Lions-Browns exhibition game Friday was “No.1 among Metro Detroit households with a 11.0 rating.” Meanwhile, the Olympics “received a 10.1 rating” and the Tigers-Rangers game “received a 10.4 rating.” The Lions game was the “No. 1 program among men ages 18-49 (7.0 rating) and men ages 25-54 (9.3 rating)” (DETROIT NEWS, 8/14).
