NBC isn’t the only network seeing big gains from this year’s Olympics.
Even without the benefit of a Michael Phelps or a Nastia Liukin, the Games’ breakout stars, most NBC Universal cable networks are seeing solid gains compared to Athens 2004, and all have notched even bigger increases compared with the same timeslots last summer.
The rise isn’t all that surprising.
This is the third straight Games, including the 2004 Summer and 2006 Winter Olympics, that NBC Universal has made very extensive use of its cable platforms. Viewers have become accustomed to looking there for competition taking place in non-primetime dayparts.
USA Network is drawing the largest cable audience, averaging 960,000 Olympics viewers through Friday, according to Nielsen, mostly airing team sports like men’s and women’s basketball. That’s up 20 percent from Athens and it’s 39 percent better than the comparable timeslots last August.
MSNBC is averaging 650,000 Games viewers, 22 percent better than Athens and 145 percent better than the same time last August. It’s also up 137 percent versus the four weeks prior to Beijing.
CNBC actually hasn’t grown compared to 2004. With an average 606,000 viewers, it’s flat. Still, it’s up 143 percent over August 2007 and 165 percent from the four weeks prior to the Games.
Oxygen is NBC’s newest cable network, acquired last year, and this is its first year of carrying the Olympics. The woman-focused channel carries daily gymnastics highlights and recaps, and it has resonated with its target audience.
Oxygen is averaging 658,000 Olympics viewers, 190 percent better than this time last year and up 141 percent over the previous four weeks. The network’s 6 to 8 p.m. Games coverage last week set a timeslot record for the network.
In total, 73.3 million viewers have tuned in to NBC’s cable networks during these games, 30 percent better than the total to this point in the Athens Games.
Of course this also comes at a boom time generally for cable. Ad-supported cable holds a big advantage over broadcast in share this summer, and some of its programs now outdraw broadcast among total viewers and, less frequently, adults 18-49.
But cable’s Olympic gains are all the more notable because most of the networks have lacked a breakout star to hitch their fortunes to, like NBC has had with eight-time gold medalist Phelps or five-time medalist Liukin, a gymnast.
The biggest draw has been the so-called Redeem Team, the men’s basketball squad looking to win its first gold since 2000.
***
Meanwhile, in other cable ratings for the week ended Aug. 17:
Top five networks in primetime (18-49s): USA, TBS, TNT, ABC Family, Lifetime.
Top five networks in primetime (total viewers): USA, Fox News Channel, TNT, Nick at Nite, TBS.
Top movie (18-49s): TNT’s “Walking Tall” (Sunday, 8 p.m.) 1.11 million.
Top sporting event (total viewers): ESPN’s “NASCAR Sprint Cup” (Sunday, 2 p.m.) 5.30 million.
Shows making the top 10 among 18-34s, 18-49s and 25-54s: USA’s “WWE Entertainment” (Monday, 9 and 10 p.m.); Bravo’s “Project Runway” (Wednesday, 9 p.m.); ESPN’s “Monday Night Football: Bengals/Packers” (Monday 8 p.m.).
Show on the rise: Lifetime Movie Network’s “Little Girl Lost: The Delimar Vera Story,” Sunday 8 p.m. The movie attracted 2.0 million total viewers, making it the second-most-watched movie in the network’s 10-year history, behind March’s “The Capture of the Green River Killer.”
Show on the decline: TNT’s “The Closer,” Monday 9 p.m. It appears even cable hits aren’t immune to ratings slides from Olympic competition. “Closer” averaged 1.65 million viewers 18-49 last week, off 29 percent from 2.33 million the previous week, airing opposite the Games for the first time.
|
TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Ranked on Household Rating
Week Ending August 17 |
|
Rank |
Primetime |
Total Day |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
USA
|
2104
|
NICK
|
1817
|
|
2
|
FOXN
|
1514
|
NAN
*
|
1239
|
|
3
|
TNT
|
1437
|
USA
|
1040
|
|
4
|
NAN
|
1195
|
TOON
|
964
|
|
5
|
TBSC
|
1118
|
ADSM*
|
863
|
|
6
|
LIF
|
1100
|
TNT
|
855
|
|
7
|
FAM
|
1055
|
FOXN
|
848
|
|
8
|
TOON
|
1044
|
LIF
|
706
|
|
9
|
ESPN
|
943
|
TBSC
|
683
|
|
10
|
SCIF
|
850
|
ESPN
|
620
|
|
11
|
HALL
|
827
|
FAM
|
562
|
|
12
|
HGTV
|
807
|
HALL
|
522
|
|
13
|
AEN
|
760
|
AEN
|
503
|
|
14
|
CNN
|
752
|
MSNB
|
488
|
|
15
|
HIST
|
724
|
TRU
|
474
|
|
16
|
CMDY
|
711
|
HGTV
|
472
|
|
17
|
SPK
|
690
|
CNN
|
463
|
|
18
|
TRU
|
688
|
TVLD
|
451
|
|
19
|
DISC
|
639
|
DISC
|
449
|
|
20
|
FX
|
613
|
HIST
|
440
|
|
21
|
AMC
|
608
|
CMDY
|
436
|
|
22
|
TVLD
|
563
|
SPK
|
432
|
|
23
|
BRAV
|
551
|
SCIF
|
415
|
|
24
|
TLC
|
549
|
FX
|
410
|
|
25
|
MSNB
|
527
|
AMC
|
406
|
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
|
|
TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE PROGRAMS
Ranked on Households
Week Ending August 17 |
|
Rank
|
Program |
Net
|
(000) |
|
1
|
The Closer
|
TNT
|
4836
|
|
2
|
NASCAR Sprint Cup
|
ESPN
|
3744
|
|
3
|
Law & Order: CI (Orig)
|
USA
|
3575
|
|
4
|
Nationwide Post Race
|
ESPN
|
3448
|
|
5
|
Monk
|
USA
|
3321
|
|
6
|
Bengals/Packers
|
ESPN
|
3114
|
|
7
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
3109
|
|
8
|
In Plain Sight
|
USA
|
3103
|
|
9
|
Burn Notice
|
USA
|
3096
|
|
10
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
3052
|
|
11
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2928
|
|
12
|
Army Wives
|
LIF
|
2905
|
|
13
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2861
|
|
14
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2859
|
|
15
|
Saving Grace
|
TNT
|
2841
|
|
16
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2722
|
|
17
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2686
|
|
18
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2601
|
|
19
|
Secret Life/American Teen
|
FAM
|
2558
|
|
20
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2533
|
|
21
|
Psych
|
USA
|
2531
|
|
22
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2522
|
|
23
|
Back At The Barnyard
|
NICK
|
2495
|
|
24
|
Project Runway
|
BRAV
|
2478
|
|
25
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2435
|
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-34
Week Ending August 17 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
TBSC
|
499
|
NICK
|
371
|
|
2
|
USA
|
477
|
ADSM*
|
354
|
|
3
|
FAM
|
407
|
NAN
*
|
330
|
|
4
|
CMDY
|
389
|
TBSC
|
266
|
|
5
|
MTV
|
286
|
USA
|
260
|
|
6
|
NAN
|
278
|
CMDY
|
223
|
|
7
|
ESPN
|
276
|
ESPN
|
210
|
|
8
|
TNT
|
261
|
TNT
|
204
|
|
9
|
VH1
|
261
|
FAM
|
200
|
|
10
|
AEN
|
258
|
MTV
|
178
|
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS
Adults 18-34
Week Ending August 17 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
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