Despite losing to Cuba in a closely contested game Wednesday evening, the Chinese women’s volleyball team claimed the top TV rating of all Olympics events broadcast on Chinese television on Wednesday, August 13, AGB Nielsen Media Research reported Thursday.
In China, 143 million viewers watched the China vs. Cuba game on CCTV 1 Wednesday evening, according to AGB Nielsen.  In comparison, 84 million Chinese tuned in for the men’s weightlifting 77kg final that aired on CCTV 2 during the same time period.
In three games on August 9, 11, and 13, the Chinese …

NBC’s primetime coverage of the 2004 Athens Summer Olympic Games drew an average audience of 24.6 million viewers over 17 individual telecasts.

DATE
NETWORK
VIEWERS (P2+)

Fri, 8/13/2004
NBC
25,384,000

Sat, 8/14/2004
NBC
19,818,000

Sun, 8/15/2004
NBC
25,798,000

Mon, 8/16/2004
NBC
27,109,000

Tues, 8/17/2004
NBC
30,146,000

Wed, 8/18/2004
NBC
28,396,000

Thurs, 8/19/2004
NBC
31,705,000

Fri, 8/20/2004
NBC
23,749,000

Sat, 8/21/2004
NBC
22,544,000

Sun, 8/22/2004
NBC
25,978,000

Mon, 8/23/2004
NBC
25,943,000

Tues, 8/24/2004
NBC
24,972,000

Wed, 8/25/2004
NBC
24,265,000

Thurs, 8/26/2004
NBC
21,491,000

Fri, 8/27/2004
NBC
20,141,000

Sat, 8/28/2004
NBC
18,029,000

Sun, 8/29/2004
NBC
19,563,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (August 13, 2004 – August 29, 2004)

NBC’s primetime coverage of the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympic Games drew an average audience of 21.5 million viewers over 17 individual telecasts.

DATE
NETWORK
VIEWERS (P2+)

Fri, 9/15/2000
NBC
27,275,000

Sat, 9/16/2000
NBC
21,019,000

Sun, 9/17/2000
NBC
23,883,000

Mon, 9/18/2000
NBC
21,042,000

Tues, 9/19/2000
NBC
24,081,000

Wed, 9/20/2000
NBC
22,315,000

Thurs, 9/21/2000
NBC
22,955,000

Fri, 9/22/2000
NBC
23,153,000

Sat, 9/23/2000
NBC
21,452,000

Sun, 9/24/2000
NBC
25,741,000

Mon, 9/25/2000
NBC
24,420,000

Tues, 9/26/2000
NBC
18,633,000

Wed, 9/27/2000
NBC
20,423,000

Thurs, 9/28/2000
NBC
20,859,000

Fri, 9/29/2000
NBC
15,551,000

Sat, 9/30/2000
NBC
16,296,000

Sun, 10/1/2000
NBC
16,706,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (September 15, 2000 – October 1, 2000)

The opening ceremonies for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta drew the largest U.S. television audience (39.7 million viewers) of any recent Summer Games.
In comparison, the broadcast of the most recent Summer Olympics opening ceremonies — Athens, 2004 — drew 25.3 million U.S. viewers.

DATE / TIME
YEAR / LOCATION
NETWORK
VIEWERS (P2+)

25 July / 8pm – 12am
1992 / Barcelona
NBC
21,609,000

19 July / 8pm – 12:45am
1996 / Atlanta
NBC
39,767,000

15 Sept. / 8pm – 11:36pm
2000 / Sydney
NBC
27,275,000

13 Aug. / 8pm – 11:49pm
2004 / Athens
NBC
25,384,000

Source: The Nielsen Company

Tuesday night’s All-Star baseball game, hosted in New York’s soon-to-be-retired Yankee Stadium, marks the end of an era.
But will that be enough to lure TV viewers?
Since 2001, Major League Baseball All-Star Game telecasts have drawn U.S. audiences ranging from 12 to 16 million viewers.  Last year’s telecast drew 12.5 million viewers — down from 2006, when 14.4 million fans tuned in.
The 2001 game claimed the largest audiences in recent memory with just over 16 million viewers, but that audience was less than half the size of those tuning in during the game’s …

RANK
NAME
NETWORK
VIEWERS (P2+)

1
WWE ENTERTAINMENT (WWE RAW)
USA
5,831,000

2
BURN NOTICE
USA
5,385,000

3
SPRINT CUP RACING/CHICAGO
TNT
5,129,000

4
IN PLAIN SIGHT
USA
5,087,000

5
WWE ENTERTAINMENT (WWE RAW)
USA
5,059,000

6
LAW & ORDER: CI (ORIG)
USA
4,899,000

7
ABC FAMILY ORIGINAL MOVIE(S)-07/13/2008 (PICTURE THIS PR)
FAM
4,270,000

8
CAMP ROCK
DSNY
4,056,000

9
SPONGEBOB
NICK
3,978,000

10
MONSTERS, INC.
DSNY
3,864,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (July 7, 2008 – July 13, 2008)

RANK
NAME
NETWORK
VIEWERS (P2+)

1
SPRINT CUP RACING/DAYTONA
TNT
6,390,000

2
WWE ENTERTAINMENT (WWE RAW)
USA
5,282,000

3
WWE ENTERTAINMENT (WWE RAW)
USA
5,019,000

4
NASCAR POST RACE SHOW
TNT
4,904,000

5
LAW & ORDER: CI (ORIG)
USA
4,882,000

6
IN PLAIN SIGHT
USA
4,584,000

7
MLB SUNDAY NIGHT L (RED SOX/YANKEES)
ESPN
4,125,000

8
WIZARDS OF WAVERLY PLACE
DSNY
3,841,000

9
ARMY WIVES
LIF
3,787,000

10
LAW & ORDER: SVU
USA
3,787,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (June 30, 2008 – July 6, 2008)

It’s that time of year at the All England Lawn Tennis Club.  Love — or rather, 40-love, game, set, match — is in the air.
But are U.S. TV viewers enamored of Wimbledon broadcasts?
Since 2001, Wimbledon telecasts have drawn average audiences of 2 to 2.5 million viewers.  Last year’s fortnight of broadcasts drew an average of 2.29 million viewers per telecast — up slightly from 2006, when 2.06 million fans tuned in, on average.
While the 2000 Wimbledon broadcasts claimed the largest U.S. audiences in recent memory (4.07 million viewers per telecast), …

While primetime TV ratings continue to suffer, sports programming across the US has seen significant growth over the past few months.   Every major sporting event in the US over the past two months (The Kentucky Derby, The Belmont Stakes, The NBA Finals, The Stanley Cup Finals, The US Open Golf Championship) have enjoyed major successes. 
The highly-anticipated Summer Olympics in Beijing should continue the trend.  NBC will feature 1,400 hours of television coverage of the Summer Olympics with an additional 2,200 hours to be streamed online. 
The growth in sports programming comes on the …