NBC truly, truly couldn’t care less about criticism from YOU.
Ad Age:
Total viewership topped the 215 million that tuned in to the Beijing broadcast, according to a statement yesterday from Comcast’s NBC Universal division citing Nielsen ratings. NBC sold about $1.25 billion in advertising, beating the $850 million for the 2008 Olympics.
Though NBC drew criticism for not airing more of the games live, showcasing taped events in prime time “undeniably” helped ratings, NBC Sports Chairman Mark Lazarus said. He said he wondered if NBC should have tape-delayed more events, such as the U.S. men’s gold-medal basketball game …NBC Wonders if It Should Have Actually Tape-Delayed the Olympics More
Games Drew 219.4 Million Viewers, Becoming Most-Watched TV Event
Rio de Janeiro is just an hour ahead of Eastern time. …
NBC could improve its digital coverage, which brought in only about 5% of NBC’s London Olympic ad revenue. NBC could more often supplement the Olympic TV feed with its own commentators and graphics. …
But if NBC wants to really lay the foundation for future Olympic ratings, it should contribute tons of money — and Comcast (NBC’s parent company) had $55.8 billion in revenue last year — to help train U.S. athletes for the Games. And convince Phelps he needs to swim in Rio to leave a real Olympic legacy. …
USA Today – Examining NBC’s lessons learned in London
… Gabby Douglas was the most-clicked athlete on NBC’s Olympics website, garnering 23.4 million mouse vaults (Michael Phelps had under 8 million).
Vulture – NBC to Olympics Haters: #Fail This, Our Ratings Were Bloody Amazing
related – Guardian – The last word on NBC’s Olympics coverage
In the big picture, a successful Olympics for London and NBC is good for everyone in the sport. 🙂