NBC Olympics Viewership Rises Sunday From Opening Ceremony, Airs To More Than Double The Viewers Of Other Networks Combined

Olympic athletes weren’t the only ones with a strong showing in Sunday as NBC’s coverage of the global sporting event keep its momentum going. NBC’s 2020 Olympics coverage was the highest rated and most-watched program Sunday, per Nielsen Live + Same Day Day fast affiliates.

Sunday’s Olympics programming drew in 15.5 million viewers and a 3.7 rating in the 18-49 demographic throughout Primetime. Highlights from Sunday evening include the 4x100M Freestyle Relay, which saw U.S. Men’s swim team taking home the gold, and the Women’s Street Finale Skateboarding final, with Japan’s 13 year-old Momji Nishya taking the top prize.

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Per NBC, the growth in viewership from Friday to Sunday marked the largest increase ever in the first three nights of a Summer Olympics. NBC added that last evening’s viewer count marked the largest viewership for any primetime show since Super Bowl Sunday on February 7, 2021.

Women’s beach volleyball, women’s gymnastics and men’s volleyball were among the other sporting events on Sunday.

Sunday’s Olympics coverage on NBC more than doubled the primetime viewership of ABC, CBS, FOX and CW combined (6.32M), drawing in 15.5M viewers.

Elsewhere Sunday evening, CBS’s Big Brother returned for a new episode (0.8, 3.21M) and so did Love Island (0.3, 1.26M). ABC had a quiet night with new episodes of Celebrity Family Feud (0.4, 3.36M) and The Chase (0.3, 2.77M)

Reruns ran large at both Fox and the CW. Fox, which just dropped its upcoming fall premiere dates, saw reruns for The Simpsons, The Great North, Bob’s Burgers and Family Guy.

The CW featured reruns of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Wellington Paranormal and Dead Pixels.

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