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Compared to four years ago, the send-off is down 30 percent — finishing a mixed ratings run for NBC.
The book is closed on Rio. And, like all but a few of the nights the 2016 Olympics, ratings for the closing ceremony were down quite a bit from the other most recent Summer Games.
Per overnight ratings from Nielsen Media, NBC's primetime coverage of the Rio wrap-up averaged a 11.7 rating among households between 8 and 10:30 p.m. ET. — with that preliminary number down 31 percent from London.
It's not surprising that the closing ceremony's ratings would be down from the London finale — 31.0 million viewers and a 17.0 rating among households — four years ago. Though many nights of Rio competition closely trailed comparable outings in London, the opening ceremony was off by as wide of a margin.
On Sunday, NBC Sports announced that the 15 nights of primetime Olympic coverage averaged 27.5 million viewers — per its Total Audience Delivery statistic. That combination of simultaneous broadcast, cable and live-streaming reach still falls quite short of London. The 2012 Olympics averaged 30.3 million viewers for competition — with an even higher overall average. Bolstered by especially strong opening and closing ceremonies, the London Games averaged 31.1 million viewers in primetime and a 17.5 household rating.
Going into the weekend, the Rio Olympics was only averaging 26.4 million viewers and a 14.9 household rating. Adjustments when the weekend's final numbers arrive won't affect those averages much, but they won't get any higher. Even with the Total Audience lifts, and the slight pop from Sunday's ender, it is clear that Rio will fall considerably shy of London's showing.
