‘Today,’ ‘Nightly’ take gold during NBC’s Olympics coverage

The 2024 Summer Olympics have given both NBC’s “Today” and “NBC Nightly News” lifts to become first place in the ratings.

“Today” has been averaging around 3.1 million total viewers between July 26, 2024, the show’s first full day in Paris, and July 31, 2024, the latest date with data available as of this writing.

Those ratings included 710,000 viewers in the demo of adults 25-54, which is also a high among its network rivals.

“Nightly,” meanwhile, has been averaging 7.9 million total viewers and 1.4 million in the demo. The Sunday, July 28, 2024, edition of the broadcast soared to 10.5 million total (2.3 million in the demo), making it the top show of the week outside of sports, syndication and specials.

“CBS Evening News” anchor Norah O’Donnell was out July 26 but did anchor the remaining weekdays through July 31, while “ABC World News Tonight” anchor David Muir has been out since July 26. “Nightly” anchor Lester Holt appeared on Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 3 and 4, 2024, when he is normally off on weekends.

In the mornings, CBS and ABC have featured a mixed lineup of anchors across the time period. 

“Today” had been narrowing the gap with first place “GMA” in recent months prior to the Olympics.

Ratings boosts for NBC News network shows during the Olympics are common. NBC has been using “Today” as a lead-in to its dayside Olympics coverage.

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NBC stations are typically preempting their 5 p.m. newscasts in favor of Olympics. Outside the central time zone, “Nightly” airs as normal at 6:30 p.m. with 30 minutes of local programming at 7 p.m. and “The Olympic Zone,” which can be localized, filling out the rest of the hour (for central time zone stations, “Zone” typically airs right after the 6 p.m. local news leading right into primetime). “Primetime in Paris,” NBC’s name for its signature Olympics broadcast, starts at 8 p.m. (7 p.m. in the central time zone).

Many NBC affiliates also see larger local news ratings, especially with their late news, which typically airs immediately following primetime coverage of the games.