or


[08/17/08 - 12:20 PM]
NBC's Most Viewed Saturday Program in 18 Years
NBC spins the numbers for Saturday, August 16.

[via press release from NBC]

NBC'S MOST VIEWED SATURDAY PROGRAM IN 18 YEARS

31.1 Million Average Viewers Watch Michael Phelps Win 8th Gold of Games

191 Million Watch Beijing Games in Just 9 Days; More Than 17-day Totals for Salt Lake & Sydney

BEIJING -Aug. 18, 2008 -NBC's broadcast of the Olympics last night was the most viewed Saturday night program (31.1 million) on NBC since 1990, when Michael Phelps was four years old. On the night when Phelps, now considered the greatest Olympian of all-time, won his unprecedented eighth gold medal of these Games and record 14th career Olympic gold medal, the audience peaked at nearly 40 million viewers in the 11:00 p.m. half-hour during the Men's 4x100 medley relay.

"The mystery of China combined with the unbelievable phenomenon of Michael Phelps, the terrific performances by gymnasts Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson and defending Olympic gold medalists Misty May-Treanor and Kerry Walsh at beach volleyball have captivated the imagination of the country," said Dick Ebersol, Chairman, NBC Universal Sports and Olympics and Executive Producer of NBC's Olympic coverage.

� NBC's 31.1 million viewers for last night's broadcast represents the best Saturday night viewership of a program on the network since Michael Phelps was four-years-old. The "Golden Girls" spin-off "Empty Nest" starring Richard Mulligan drew 31.4 million viewers on Feb. 24, 1990.

� Through nine days NBCU has reached 191 million total viewers, 14 million more than the first nine days for Athens (177 million) and 5 million more than the Atlanta Games (186 million), which was the most viewed television event in U.S. history. The nine-day total for these Games now surpasses the final overall 17-day viewership totals for the Salt Lake City (187 million) and Sydney (185 million).

� NBC's Beijing Olympic nine-day average primetime viewership is 30.1 million, 15 percent ahead of Athens in 2004 (26.2 million). NBC's average of 17.4 rating/30 share is the best through the second Saturday for a Summer Olympics outside the U.S. since Barcelona in 1992 (18.6/35) and is a 10 percent jump from Athens in 2004 (15.8/28).

� Saturday night garnered 70 million total viewers in primetime and 31.1 million average viewers, a 38 percent gain from the comparable night in Athens (22.5). The night earned a 17.6 rating/32 share, which represents a 29 percent increase (13.6/26).

THE PHELPS PHENOMENAN: Michael Phelps, over the last nine days has become the most decorated Olympian in history and the biggest star in the Beijing Games to date. NBC's broadcast peaked last night with 39.9 million viewers during the 11:00 p.m. half hour, as the U.S. team won the 4x100m medley relay, giving Phelps his eighth gold medal of the games. Below is what NBC's Bob Costas, Dan Hicks and Rowdy Gaines have said about Phelps:

COSTAS: "What Phelps provided in Beijing was more than just sustained excellence. He provided the kind of theater that none of us will soon, if ever, forget."

HICKS: "That is the kind of feat that just may never be surpassed and certainly one of the greatest feats of sports history."

GAINES: "The sport of swimming will never be the same. The name Michael Phelps will be synonymous with perfection."

MOUNTAIN & PACIFIC TIME ZONES RATE HIGH:

Through nine nights, the metered market averages (56 markets) for NBC's Beijing Olympics are a 19.3 rating/34 share. Below is a breakdown by time zone:

Eastern Time Zone: 18.6/33

Central Time Zone: 19.4/33

Mountain Time Zone: 22.7/41

Pacific Time Zone: 20.3/39

TOP 20 METERED MARKETS THROUGH 9 DAYS:
1. Salt Lake City: 24.7/48
T2. Minneapolis: 24.5/45
T2. Denver: 24.5/45
4. Baltimore: 23.5/39
5. San Diego: 23.3/44
T6. Indianapolis: 22.8/40
T6. Oklahoma City: 22.8/36
8. Nashville: 22.6/36
9. Columbus: 22.4/39
10. West Palm Beach: 22.0/36
11. Phoenix: 21.0/39
12. Portland: 21.5/44
13. Sacramento: 21.4/40
14. St. Louis: 21.3/35
15. Austin: 21.1/36
16. Washington DC: 21.0/37
T17. Los Angeles: 20.5/38
T17. San Francisco: 20.5/42
19. Kansas City: 20.3/35
20. Louisville: 20.0/33

TAMI FOR FRIDAY: The TAMi (Total Audience Measurement Index) measures the 3600 hours of programming during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, including Television (P2+ reach), Online (Unique Users), Mobile (WAP unique users and Mobile VOD unique users) and TV VOD (unique users). Below is the TAMi measurement through Friday, Aug. 15:

Friday, Aug. 15: 95.0 million
TV: 86.5 million, ONLINE: 7.9 million, MOBILE: 584k, TV VOD: n/a
Thursday, Aug. 14: 101.4 million
Wednesday, Aug. 13: 100.9 million
Tuesday, Aug. 12: 105.0 million
Monday, Aug. 11: 103.1 million
Sunday, Aug. 10: 113.0 million
Saturday, Aug. 9: 97.8 million
Friday, Aug. 8: 74.6 million

NBC Universal, broadcasting its record 11th Olympics and surpassing ABC for the most Olympics broadcast by any network, is presenting an unprecedented 3,600 hours of Beijing Olympic Games coverage, the most ambitious single media project in history featuring the most live coverage (nearly 2,900 live hours in total), across the most platforms, of any Summer Olympics in history.





  [august 2008]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
     


· SHOWATCH
(series past and present)
· DEVWATCH
(series in development)
· MOVIEWATCH
(tv movies and mini-series)





most recent ratings | view all posts
[09/17/25 - 03:14 PM]
Buccaneers at Texans Delivers 17.4 Million Viewers, ESPN's Most-Watched "MNF" Week 2 Game Since 2008
Additionally, the Buccaneers-Texans is ESPN's most-watched individual game on weeks with multiple "MNF" games, whether a true doubleheader or two games with staggered start times.

[09/16/25 - 03:39 PM]
"College GameDay Built by The Home Depot" and College Football on ESPN/ABC Both Off to Stellar Starts in 2025
ABC is off to its best three-week start ever, averaging 7.8 million viewers per game.

[09/16/25 - 03:02 PM]
"20/20" Is the No. 1 Program Across Broadcast and Cable on Friday Night
"20/20" ranked as the No. 1 broadcast program on Friday night in Total Viewers (2.457 million).

[09/16/25 - 03:01 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54, and Adults 18-49, Leading CBS' "After Midnight" and NBC's "Late Night with Seth Meyers" in All Three Measures
For the 2nd week in a row, "Nightline" improved on the previous week in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49.

[09/16/25 - 02:45 PM]
FOX NFL Smashes All-Time Viewership Records with Week 2 Super Bowl Rematch
A massive 33.8 million viewers delivers FOX Sports its best-ever regular season Sunday telecast, most-watched Week 2 NFL telecast on record and more all-time viewership highs!

[09/16/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of September 8: "Canelo vs. Crawford" Packs a Punch, "Wednesday" Season 2 Joins Most Popular List
In movies, "KPop Demon Hunters" danced its way back to No. 1 on the English Film list with 22.6 million views.

[09/15/25 - 03:25 PM]
Over 41 Million Global Viewers on Netflix Watch Terence Crawford Defeat Canelo Alvarez to Claim Super Middleweight Championship
The main event scored an estimated average minute audience (AMA) of 36.6 million live+SD viewers from opening to closing bell, per VideoAmp and Netflix.

[09/15/25 - 11:45 AM]
The "77th Emmy Awards" Delivers Its Largest Television Audience Since 2021, Up +8% from Last Year
Hosted by Nate Bargatze, the telecast was seen by more than 7.42 million viewers on the CBS Television Network and streaming on Paramount+.

[09/12/25 - 02:43 PM]
"The Groomsmen: First Look" Launches Hallmark Channel's "Fall Into Love" Seasonal Stunt with Chart-Topping Ratings
The film was the #1 most-watched entertainment cable program on Saturday among Households, Women 18+, Persons 18+, and Total Viewers.

[09/12/25 - 05:31 AM]
ESPN Networks Deliver Most-Watched WNBA Regular Season Ever
ESPN networks aired eight of the top 10 most-watched WNBA games during the 2025 season, highlighted by its most-watched WNBA game ever - 2.7 million viewers for Chicago Sky at Indiana Fever on May 17 (ABC).

[09/10/25 - 02:09 PM]
ESPN Delivers Most Viewed Tennis Telecast of the Year and Most Viewed US Open Since 2022
The Men's Championship averaged 3 million viewers on ABC, up 82% vs. 2024 while the Women's Championship averaged 2.4 million on ESPN, up 50% vs. 2024.

[09/09/25 - 03:43 PM]
On Pace for Record Year, ESPN Formula 1 Viewership Earns 10th Event High of '25 Season
F1 races are averaging 1.4M viewers this season across ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC, ahead of the all-time series record average of 1.21M that was set in 2022.

[09/09/25 - 03:29 PM]
ABC Scores Three of the Top Four Best Audiences of College Football's Week 2; "College GameDay" Delivers Second Most-Watched Regular Season Show on Record
Michigan/Oklahoma (9.7 million viewers) was ABC's most-viewed Week 2 game since 2006.

[09/09/25 - 03:17 PM]
FOX's "Big Noon Saturday" & "Big Noon Kickoff" Up Big Through Week 2
Iowa-Iowa State scored 4,278,000 viewers on FOX, most-watched game in the noon window.

[09/09/25 - 02:26 PM]
NBC Sports Posts Largest Two-Game NFL Kickoff Weekend Audience in a Decade & Second Best All-Time, Averaging 26.5 Million Viewers Across NBC & Peacock
NBC's 2025 NFL Kickoff Weekend average viewership trailed only 2015, as Steelers-Patriots in NFL Kickoff '15 and Cowboys-Giants in the Sunday night opener averaged 27.2 million viewers.