“America’s Golden Champion” had one last run as a ratings champion Sunday–Michael Phelps’ NBC special scored an impressive 5.9 adults 18-49 rating and 20.47 million as the lead-in to the tape-delayed broadcast of the day’s athletic events.
Phelps was a consistent ratings juggernaut as a competitor in the Olympics, and his send-off, announced less than 24 hours prior to its airing, indeed capitalized on his popularity with Olympics viewers.
The actual Olympics broadcast easily won the night, scoring a 10.5 rating and 32.1 million viewers in the fast national ratings. Those numbers only cover the broadcast through 11PM, so a slight adjustment is expected in Sunday’s final ratings report.
Built notably around the Men’s 100M final and McKayla Maroney’s surprisingly-unsuccessful attempt to win Gold in the Women’s Vault competition, this Sunday’s broadcast was up from the corresponding night in 2008 but down from last Sunday’s showing.
