NBC is closing out the 2024 Paris Olympics on a high note, thanks to great performances — and unexpected drama — from some Team USA athletes.
According to the network, the second half of Thursday’s thrilling Team USA Men’s basketball comeback win against Serbia in the semifinals averaged 13.5 million viewers across NBC, USA Network and Peacock. That’s an impressive daytime figure. The full game averaged 7.9 million viewers.
For comparison, the prime time broadcast of the 2024 NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks averaged 11.3 million viewers on ABC/ESPN.
Team USA’s dominance in track & field events also spurred Thursday’s prime-time ratings. The U.S. won eight medals, including three individual golds. More than 28 million viewers watched Thursday’s prime-time action.
Add it all up, and NBC has experienced a brilliant ratings recovery from the depressed ratings it experienced during the Covid-delayed Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Through the first 14 days in Paris, NBC is averaging 31.6 million viewers, up 77% from Tokyo.
Earlier this week, NBC Olympics president Gary Zenkel told the StreamTime Sports podcast he was relieved to see the ratings rebound from those “scary” Tokyo numbers.
“It’s a great relief,” Zenkel said. “I am a true believer in the power and the magic of the Olympics … to capture and assemble interest and an audience in the United States. It was scary to see numbers fall as they had.
“So it is incredibly gratifying and somewhat relieving to see that the Olympic audience that we knew for the decades that we’d been broadcasting … was there.”
About Arthur Weinstein
Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.