Saturday’s Gold Medal triumph for the USA Women’s National Team was a hit for viewership on NBC. With Mallory Swanson scoring the game-winning goal just before the hour mark against Brazil, American supporters watched the USWNT claim their first Gold Medal since the 2012 London Games. Still, the audience for that game may have surprised […]
Saturday’s Gold Medal triumph for the USA Women’s National Team was a hit for viewership on NBC. With Mallory Swanson scoring the game-winning goal just before the hour mark against Brazil, American supporters watched the USWNT claim their first Gold Medal since the 2012 London Games. Still, the audience for that game may have surprised even NBC.
NBC’s broadcast of that Gold Medal game in Women’s soccer at the Olympics averaged 9 million viewers. That was the highest viewership for a Gold Medal game at the Olympics in women’s soccer since 2004. Moreover, it was not a prime time slot for soccer, either. Although the game was on a Saturday, it kicked off at 11 a.m. ET. That made it available to those watching the Olympics in the morning, but afternoon contests with a 3 p.m. kickoff tend to score better viewership. Regardless, NBC will proudly display this viewership total.
There are plenty of reasons why the USWNT’s win over Brazil would have so many viewers. For one, the United States did not play in the Gold Medal game at the 2016 or 2020 Olympics. In Rio de Janeiro, the Americans fell in the quarterfinals, the side’s worst finish at the Olympics in women’s soccer. Four years later in Tokyo, the USWNT lost to Canada in the semifinals. Bronze Medals are respectable, but the USWNT expects Gold at the Olympics. In 2004, the United States defeated Brazil with a 2 p.m. ET kickoff. Perhaps the slightly more accommodating time for American audiences played a role. The viewership of 9 million for this most recent Gold Medal game incorporates both NBC and Peacock, so far more people watched on traditional TV…
Source link : https://worldsoccertalk.com/olympics/usa-draws-stunning-viewership-for-olympics-gold-medal-final/
Author : Kyle Fansler
Publish date : 2024-08-12 14:31:37
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