SI

NBC Generating Huge Ratings for Early Portion of Paris Olympics

Viewership numbers are up in a massive way across the board for NBC’s coverage of the Summer Games.

Jimmy Traina

The men’s U.S. basketball game against Serbia on Sunday drew 10.9 million viewers, more than the men’s basketball gold medal game in the Tokyo Olympics.
The men’s U.S. basketball game against Serbia on Sunday drew 10.9 million viewers, more than the men’s basketball gold medal game in the Tokyo Olympics. / John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

1. I’m not an Olympics person. It’s just not my thing. So I don’t watch and don’t follow what’s going on. But from the very little I was on Twitter over the weekend, I know there was some big controversy about the opening ceremony and people were going on and on about boycotting the Games.

Here’s how the boycott has worked out.

The opening ceremony on Friday drew 28.6 million viewers, the best viewership number for the opening ceremony since 2012. On Saturday, NBC drew 32.4 million viewers for the Olympics, up 83% from the same day of the Tokyo Games in 2020. On Sunday, NBC drew 41.5 million for the Olympics, up nearly 50% from the same day of the Tokyo Games.

Overall, this year’s Olympics are up 79% from the Tokyo Games. NBC platforms averaged 34.5 million viewers over the first three days. The Tokyo Games averaged 19.3 million over the first three days.

The men’s U.S. basketball game on Sunday drew 10.9 million viewers. That was more viewers than the men’s basketball gold medal game in the Tokyo Olympics.

NBC couldn’t have asked for a better start in Paris.

2. Full disclosure: I am not familiar with Rennae Stubbs’s work as a tennis commentator, so I have no opinion on whether I think she is good or not. However, Chris “Mad Dog” Russo, who is as big a tennis fan as there is, ripped Stubbs for her work during Monday’s Rafael Nadal–Novak Djokovic match at the Olympics.

Stubbs got wind of Russo’s harsh critique of her work and claimed his take was sexist. Even worse, Stubbs said on Twitter, “Does he comment on all the men that talk non stop on broadcasts. Probably not.”

As someone who listens to Russo every single day, I cannot tell you how bad and embarrassing a take this is from Stubbs.

Among the broadcasters Russo criticizes on a regular basis: Tony Romo, Kevin Harlan and Gus Johnson. Nobody is more of an equal-opportunity basher when it comes to broadcasters than Chris Russo.

3. When one bettor lost out on a four-leg home run parlay Sunday because Brent Rooker didn’t go deep, he let the A’s outfielder know about it.

The gambler probably didn’t expect Rooker to respond, but he did and it was fantastic.

4. Did Diamondbacks broadcaster Steve Berthiaume misread this shirt or did he intentionally ad-lib to avoid any possible controversy? Either way, he probably wasn’t thrilled the camera person stayed on the fan that long.

5. Orioles catcher James McCann took a pitch to the face on Monday, which resulted in a bloody and ugly scene.

Somehow, McCann STAYED IN THE GAME. While I understand the natural instinct is to praise McCann for his toughness, it’s just a regular season MLB game, one of 162. Just go get your face fixed.

And this is what McCann looked like after the game.

6. The latest episode of SI Media With Jimmy Traina features a conversation with Fox NFL analyst, Greg Olsen.

Olsen shares his reaction to going viral thanks to a photo from Christian McCaffrey and Olivia Culpo’s wedding, explains why he looked the way he did in that photo and shares his thoughts on wedding etiquette.

Olsen also talks about going into this NFL season as Fox’s No. 2 analyst after being the No. 1 analyst the last two years, what his relationship is like with Tom Brady and winning the Sports Emmy for Best Sports Event Analyst two years in a row.

Other topics discussed with Olsen include whether Comedy Central missed a golden opportunity by not having him roast Tom Brady, what goes on at Tight End University, the best tight end of all time and much more.

Following Olsen, Sal Licata from WFAN and SNY joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week’s topics include thoughts on CBS and Fox’s NFL booths for 2024, Nick Castellanos’ propensity for homering during big news days, Peacock raising its prices, “Veep” and much more.

You can listen to the SI Media With Jimmy Traina below or on Apple and Spotify.

You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on Sports Illustrated‘s YouTube channel.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Happy 50th birthday to Hilary Swank, who is responsible for an episode of The Office that would never be allowed to air today.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter and Instagram.

Published
Jimmy Traina
JIMMY TRAINA

Jimmy Traina is a staff writer and podcast host for Sports Illustrated. A 20-year veteran in the industry, he’s been covering the sports media landscape for seven years and writes a daily column, Traina Thoughts. Traina has hosted the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast since 2018, a show known for interviews with some of the most important and powerful people in sports media. He also was the creator and writer of SI’s Hot Clicks feature from 2007 to '13.

Home/Olympics