The gold earned at Olympics sporting events in London turned into bullion for those TV outlets around the world that aired them. And those record high ratings turned into record ad revenues, too.
In the U.S., Olympic numbers exceeded expectations, with the Games averaging over 31 million viewers every night. That number is 12 percent higher than the ratings for the 2008 Beijing Games, and NBC said the London Olympics were the most-watched non-U.S. summer Olympics in 36 years.
The final night of the Olympics, the event’s Closing Ceremony brought in 26.9 million viewers.
Unsurprisingly, NBC used the Olympics ratings glut to their advantage by premiering two fall shows — Animal Practice and Go On after Olympic coverage. Go On attracted a hefty 16 million viewers when it aired on Wednesday, August 8. Animal Practice averaged 12.8 million viewers when it aired after the Closing Ceremony, retaining 49 percent of its lead-in rating in 18-49 (vs. a 54 percent retention for Go On.)
In the U.K. the Olympics were also a major boon for the BBC, too.
The BBC’s coverage of the Olympics reached a peak of 20 million for the men’s 100-meter final (in which Jamaican runner Usain Bolt broke records and won the gold).
In addition, an average of 23.2 million viewers tuned in for the Closing Ceremony on Sunday night. That was a ratings high, with the exception of the Opening Ceremony, which brought in 23.4 million average viewers, making it one of the top 20 most-watched British TV programs ever.
According to the BBC, the total number of Brits watching at least part of the Olympics in the U.K. reached 51.9 million, just over 90 percent of the population.
The BBC took advantage of the large Closing Ceremony audience to promote its upcoming BBC1 series called Ripper Street, which reveals the bloody history of the East End (including the murders committed by Jack the Ripper). The trailer began with an image of the Olympics stadium and a warning: “As the sun sets on the Olympics, darkness rises.”
In Canada, Olympic broadcaster CTV also saw record-breaking ratings numbers. The Canadian Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium (also known as CTV Olympics) reported a 74-percent increase in viewers compared to Beijing in 2008. It also noted that 28 million Canadians, representing 83.4 percent of the population, have watched at least some part of the Olympics telecasts. The Closing Ceremony broke records, drawing in 7.5 million Canadians.
The Canadians take their gold seriously, and it was calculated each of their 17 gold medals cost the country over C$5.4 million.
Unlike the U.S., Canada didn’t rely on tape-delay. Instead, they aired major events live whenever they occurred, and then airing repeats during primetime.
CTV decided to premiere Lionsgate’s (and Charlie Sheen’s) Anger Management a month early, directly following the Closing Ceremonies. The premiere drew 2.9 million viewers, and was the most-watched debut of any new series on Canadian television from September 2011-August 2012. It was the No.1 August series audience on record.
In Europe, according to European Broadcasting Union figures, 34 million people watched at least an hour of the games in France, Germany’s ZDF saw an average of 3.59 million viewers for its London 2012 coverage, and Spain’s RTVE saw peak numbers — of 5.68 million — for the men’s basketball final between Spain and the U.S.
The moral of the story: The Olympics have the Midas touch — and not just for the athletes.
