Ratings Review: 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics on NBC

The Last time the Summer Olympic games were held in the United States, the TV ratings went through the roof. Yes, better than the 2012 London games this year.

The first nine days of competition averaged over 35 million viewers. In week #2, the average was just over 30 million per night.

The most watched nights were when the Women's Gymnastics team and individual finals were scheduled. Each night grabbed around 42 million viewers. The last couple of days of competition, interest had fallen off and just 23 million viewers were tuning in.

17 Night by Night ratings for 1996 Atlanta Olympics on NBC

Date              Viewers*    HH Rating/Share 
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Fri, Jul. 19       39.80          23.6/45 (Opening Ceremonies)
Sat, Jul. 20       26.30          17.2/37 
Sun, Jul. 21       36.40          22.9/42
Mon, Jul. 22       36.60          24.0/40
Tue, Jul. 23       41.80          27.0/45
Wed, Jul. 24       35.40          23.6/42
Thu, Jul. 25       42.70          27.5/47
Fri, Jul. 26       28.90          19.1/38
Sat, Jul. 27       30.90          19.9/41
Sun, Jul. 28       37.10          23.4/43

Mon, Jul. 29       40.20          26.4/47
Tue, Jul. 30       31.20          21.3/39
Wed, Jul. 31       28.90          19.8/38
Thu, Aug. 1        29.80          20.7/39
Fri, Aug. 2        23.60          16.1/33
Sat, Aug. 3        23.20          15.8/34
Sun, Aug. 4        34.10          21.8/40 (Closing Ceremonies)