The ratings for the Paris Olympics ’ opening ceremony scored an early victory for NBC. Deadline reported Saturday that nearly 29 million watched Friday’s spectacle on the Seine, according to Nielsen and Adobe Analytics. The 28.
6 million is a huge jump over the 17 million who clicked on to the kickoff of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, which were postponed a year by the pandemic and took place mostly without spectators. Paris’ opening numbers also bettered the 2016 Rio ceremony by 8%, Deadline noted. But they fell short of London’s 40.
7 million viewers in 2012, according to The Hollywood Reporter . First-night ratings are usually a harbinger of viewership to come during the games’ actual competitions, The Athletic wrote . After dismal viewership for the ceremony, the Tokyo Olympics averaged 15.
6 million viewers nightly across NBC’s platforms ― an all-time prime-time low for both summer or winter Olympics, The Athletic reported. The Paris extravaganza generated extra buzz from controversial segments that riled up conservatives , including a bit with drag queens interpreted by many as a parody of Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper.” Related From Our Partner.