NBC audience soars with first full week of Olympics Games

So far, they have a lot of unhappy viewers to show for it.

For the week of August 8-14, the top 10 shows, their networks and viewerships: Summer Olympic Games (Tuesday), NBC, 33.4 million; Summer Olympic Games (Thursday), NBC, 31.2 million; Summer Olympic Games (Monday), NBC, 28.9 million; Summer Olympic Games (Sunday), NBC, 26.8 million; Summer Olympic Games (Wednesday), NBC, 26.5 million; Summer Olympic Games (Saturday), NBC, 25.5 million; Summer Olympic Games (Friday), NBC, 24.0 million; “60 Minutes”, CBS, 6.0 million; “Big Brother” (Wednesday), CBS, 5.9 million; “NCIS”, CBS, 5.8 million. The network is being ridiculed for its disproportionate focus on sports such as swimming and gymnastics, overt focus on American success stories, and occasionally sexist comments from announcers and analysts.

Advertisers have spent roughly $1.2 billion for commercials during the Rio Olympics this year on NBC.

Unlike the London games, the Rio Olympics have full live digital streaming of all sports events as well as competing Olympic coverage on NBC cable channels.

In the same manner, a new channel like the Pac-12 Network has learned how it can also reduce expenses while expanding its live sports coverage by having broadcasters call events off monitors from its San Francisco-based studios – games that could also have a couple of robotic cameras recording the video. Coverage concludes with men’s springboard diving qualifying as 2016 World Cup bronze medalist Kristian Ipsen of the USA looks to advance. He added: “It’s sort of like the ultimate reality show and mini-series wrapped into one”.

There was further outrage on Twitter following NBC’s description of the United States women’s gymnastics team on Sunday. Trautwig apologized the following day. An NBC sportscaster, for example, credited a Hungarian swimmer’s husband for a career turnaround.

It’s too soon to say whether NBC’s coverage will hurt its viewing numbers.

That’s better than the entire London Games. It is also the first time that the broadcast network coverage, including primetime, has been streamed simultaneously on digital platforms.

In individual gymnastics events, the men’s high bar and parallel bars, along with the women’s floor routine, will be the ones to watch.