NBC ratings hit marks unseen in decades

Saturday brought more gold medals for the United States — and more huge ratings for NBC.

The network announced Sunday that the Team USA men’s basketball win over France in the gold medal game Saturday averaged 19.5 million viewers on NBC and Peacock. That made it the most-watched gold-medal game since the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

The broadcast peaked at 22.7 million viewers late in the game.

The USWNT’s 1-0 win over Brazil in the gold-medal game also struck ratings gold. NBC reported that approximately 9 million viewers tuned in, making it the most-watched gold-medal soccer match since the 2004 Athens Olympics.

The great ratings are just the latest good news for the network, which experienced a ratings disaster during the Covid-delayed Tokyo Olympics. While the final numbers aren’t in, NBC’s ratings in Paris have been up significantly across the board, literally from the opening ceremony .

Those numbers have been helped in part by some close competitions in recent days. The USWNT’s 1-0 win over Brazil kept fans watching to the end. Thursday’s U.S. men’s basketball comeback win over Serbia averaged 13.5 million viewers across NBC, USA Network and Peacock. That’s an impressive daytime figure.

Overall, NBC’s coverage drew more than 30 million viewers Saturday, and the network is averaging 31.3 million viewers for the Olympics through Saturday.

[ NBC Sports PR ]

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