Rio Olympics Total Audience Delivery Averages 27.5 Million for 15 Competition Nights

The figure represents the second-highest total for any Summer Games outside of the United States.

With primetime competition completed Saturday night, NBC Olympics’ Total Audience Delivery for the 15 nights of the 2016 Rio Olympics averaged 27.5 million viewers – ranking as the second-highest average audience on record for the primetime competition coverage for any non-domestic Summer Games.

NBC Olympics’ Total Audience Delivery measures broader Rio Olympics consumption by calculating average minute viewing across broadcast, cable, and digital. The 2016 Rio Olympics is the first in U.S. media history with live primetime Olympic coverage on channels other than the primary broadcast network. It is also the first time that the broadcast network coverage, including primetime, has been streamed simultaneously on digital platforms.

Following are the average primetime audiences on record for the 15 nights of competition for non-U.S. Summer Games:

• 2012 London Olympics (on NBC): 30.3 million viewers
• 2016 Rio Olympics (on NBC): 27.5 million viewers
• 2008 Beijing Olympics (on NBC): 27.2 million viewers
• 1992 Barcelona Olympics (on NBC): 26.4 million viewers
• 1988 Seoul Olympics (on NBC): 25.8 million viewers
• 2004 Athens Olympics (on NBC): 24.9 million viewers
• 2000 Sydney Olympics (on NBC): 21.5 million viewers