or


[08/08/21 - 02:02 PM]
NBC's Tokyo Olympics Dominates Primetime Viewership Rankings in 2021
NBC's Tokyo Olympics competition coverage delivered 11 of primetime TV's 25 most watched shows in 2021.

[via press release from NBC Sports]

NBC'S TOKYO OLYMPICS DOMINATES PRIMETIME VIEWERSHIP RANKINGS IN 2021

NBC Olympics' #1 Streak Continues: NBC Summer Olympics Tops in Primetime for 134 Consecutive Nights

Primetime Coverage of Tokyo Olympics Closing Ceremony Tonight at 8 p.m. ET on NBC

STAMFORD, Conn. - August 8, 2021 - NBC's Tokyo Olympics coverage continued its dominance of primetime TV through Saturday's final night of competition, which featured the U.S. women's basketball team winning its seventh consecutive gold medal and the U.S. women's volleyball team capturing gold for the first time.

NBC's Tokyo Olympics competition coverage delivered 11 of primetime TV's 25 most watched shows in 2021 (chart below).

In addition, the Tokyo Olympics has extended the event's streak as the most dominant in media, easily winning primetime for 134 consecutive Summer Olympics nights.

NBC concludes its Tokyo Olympics coverage tonight at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT with the Closing Ceremony, hosted by Terry Gannon, Tara Lipinski, and Johnny Weir from Tokyo Olympic Stadium. Lewis Johnson serves as reporter.

Mike Tirico opens tonight's primetime coverage on NBC at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT with Tokyo Gold, a look back at the Games' most memorable performances, including Steve Kornacki with some of the Games' most unique stories.

MOST-WATCHED PRIMETIME SHOWS IN 2021, TV ONLY
Show, Date Avg. Viewers
CBS Super Bowl LV (Chiefs-Bucs), 2/7/21 92.5 million
CBS AFC Championship (Bills-Chiefs), 1/24/21 42.3 million
FOX NFC Divisional (Bucs-Saints), 1/17/21 36.3 million
NBC AFC Divisional (Ravens-Bills), 1/16/21 26.3 million
NBC AFC Wild Card (Browns-Steelers), 1/10/21 24.9 million
NBC NFC Wild Card (Bucs-WFT), 1/9/21 21.5 million
CBS The Equalizer (post-Super Bowl), 2/7/21 20.5 million
NBC Tokyo Olympics Day 2 (Sunday), 7/25/21 19.5 million*
ESPN CFP Semifinal (Ohio State-Clemson), 1/1/21 19.4 million*
ESPN CFP Championship (Ohio State-Alabama), 1/11/21 19.0 million*
NBC Tokyo Olympics Day 6 (Thursday), 7/29/21 18.9 million*
CBS Oprah Interview with Meghan & Harry, 3/7/21 17.9 million
CBS NCAA Men's Bask. Champ. (Baylor-Gonzaga), 4/5/21 16.9 million
NBC Tokyo Olympics Day 11 (Tuesday), 8/3/21 16.9 million*
NBC Sunday Night Football (WFT-Eagles), 1/3/21 16.6 million
NBC Tokyo Olympics Day 4 (Tuesday), 7/27/21 16.2 million*
NBC Tokyo Olympics Day 3 (Monday), 7/26/21 16.1 million*
NBC Tokyo Olympics Day 9 (Sunday), 8/1/21 15.6 million*
NBC Tokyo Olympics Day 10 (Monday), 8/2/21 15.3 million*
NBC Tokyo Olympics Day 1 (Saturday), 7/24/21 15.2 million*
NBC Tokyo Olympics Day 7 (Friday), 7/30/21 15.0 million*
CBS NCAA Men's Bask. Semi (UCLA-Gonzaga), 4/3/21 14.94 million
CBS 60 Minutes, 1/10/21 14.82 million
NBC Tokyo Olympics Day 5 (Wednesday), 7/28/21 14.5 million*
NBC Tokyo Olympics Day 8 (Saturday), 7/31/21 14.4 million*
NBC Tokyo Olympics Day 12 (Wednesday), 8/4/21 14.2 million*
NBC Tokyo Olympics Day 13 (Thursday), 8/5/21 12.9 million*
ABC NBA Finals Game 6 (Suns-Bucks), 7/20/21 12.5 million
NBC Tokyo Olympics Day 14 (Friday), 8/6/21 12.0 million*
CBS 60 Minutes, 1/17/21 10.6 million

Source: Nielsen, Live + Same Day Data; Excludes Pre- and Post-Shows (Official viewership for 8/6 will be available on Monday)

*Viewership across multiple television networks

ABOUT NBC OLYMPICS

A division of NBC Sports Group, NBC Olympics is responsible for producing, programming and promoting NBCUniversal's coverage of the Olympic & Paralympic Games. NBC Olympics is renowned for its unsurpassed Olympic heritage, award-winning production, and ability to aggregate the largest audiences in U.S. television history. NBCUniversal owns the U.S. media rights on all platforms to all Olympic Games through 2032. NBC Olympics also produces thousands of hours of Olympic & Paralympic sports programming throughout the year, which is presented on NBC, NBCSN, Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA, Peacock and NBC Sports digital platforms.

--NBC OLYMPICS-





  [august 2021]  
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
[07/23/26 - 04:01 PM]
ABC News Is No. 1 on Sunday Morning, Friday Night and Late Night
"20/20" was up over the previous week in all key target demos and improved year to year across the board.

[07/23/26 - 01:00 PM]
"Big Brother" Premiere Week Up +14% from Last Season
In its first week (episodes airing July 9, 12 and 15), "Big Brother" live plus 3-day total multiplatform viewership averaged 4.96 million viewers.

[07/22/26 - 01:19 PM]
Top 10 Most-Watched Prime Original Films & Series for the Week of July 13
"Ride or Die," "Elle," "Off Campus," "Every Year After," and "Clarkson's Farm" led all original series worldwide.

[07/22/26 - 12:37 PM]
Kansas City, Boston and Austin Lead the Way as Top Local Markets for FIFA World Cup 2026 on FOX and FS1
San Francisco, Dallas, San Diego, Atlanta, St. Louis, Providence, and West Palm Beach round out the top 10.

[07/22/26 - 11:30 AM]
ESPN Delivers Most-Watched NBA Summer League Championship Game Since 2017
The Golden State Warriors' victory over the Memphis Grizzlies averaged 676,000 viewers on ESPN, according to Nielsen Big Data + Panel.

[07/21/26 - 04:03 PM]
FOX Saturday Baseball Delivers 2.639 Million for Seattle's Extra-Inning Win Over San Francisco
Viewership peaked with 3,383,000 viewers from 8:00-8:15 PM ET.

[07/21/26 - 03:22 PM]
FOX Sports' Presentation of FIFA World Cup 2026 Final Etches Place in Record Books as Most-Watched Soccer Telecast in U.S. History With 38,937,000 Viewers
The record-breaking Final reached its dramatic peak with 51,685,000 viewers watching from 5:45 to 6:00 PM ET as Spain secured a 1-0 victory in extra time over Argentina.

[07/21/26 - 02:22 PM]
NBC Sports Delivers Most Watched Final Round of the Open Championship Since 2022
Sunday's audience peaked at 6.1 million viewers on NBC and Peacock from 1:15-1:30 p.m. ET.

[07/21/26 - 02:03 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro" Series Debut Tops 5 Million Total Viewers
On linear, "Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro" was the No. 1 program of the night in both Total Viewers (4.42 million) and Adults 18-49 (0.47 rating).

[07/21/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of July 13 - "Little House on the Prairie" Journeys to No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
"The Hawk" - the sports comedy starring Will Ferrell as an infamous golf legend chasing a late-career comeback on the green - debuted in the No. 3 spot on the list, swinging to 4.8 million views.

[07/20/26 - 10:00 AM]
CBS Leads Broadcast Series in Multiplatform Viewing for the 2025-2026 Season
Against broadcast competition, CBS finishes the season with four of the top five series.

[07/17/26 - 03:12 PM]
FOX Sports' 15.088 Million Average Viewers for FIFA World Cup 2026 Semifinals is Best in U.S. History
16.900 million viewers watched Argentina knock out England in the semifinals Wednesday afternoon on FOX.

[07/17/26 - 02:01 PM]
ABC News Is No. 1 in Total Viewers on Sunday Morning, in Late Night and Friday Evening
"20/20" improved on the year-ago telecast by double digits in all key target demos: Total Viewers, Adults 25-54, and Adults 18-49.

[07/16/26 - 02:41 PM]
FOX Sports Rings the Bell, Captures Most-Watched MLB All-Star Game Since 2018
Coverage reached a peak audience of 10,186,000 viewers from 8:45-9:00 PM ET.

[07/16/26 - 01:48 PM]
Netflix: What We Watched the First Half of 2026
Starting in Q1 2027, Netflix will move from a six-month to a yearly snapshot.