Broncos beat out Olympic ratings once again

During the Olympics, NBC routinely airs promos for the 2012 NFL season and Sunday Night Football on NBC.

On Thursday night, the Denver Broncos opened the preseason with a 31-3 win over the Chicago Bears.  The game, televised locally on KTVD-Channel 20, drew better ratings than the Olympic Games on Channel 9.

Per the Denver Post‘s Joanne Ostrow —

From 6:30-9:45 p.m. Thursday when they were head-to-head, the Olympics on NBC, locally Channel 9, managed a 7.5 rating and 20.9 share while the Broncos’ preseason opener on KTVD-Channel 20 (Channel 9’s sister station) triumphed with a 12.3 rating and 35.8 share. The ratings, based on the 25-54 demographic, are based on preliminary overnights; finals will be reported Friday afternoon.

In short, 203,598 adults watched the Broncos while 124,182 watched the Olympics.

In July, the Olympics’ Opening Ceremonies scored lower ratings than Denver’s AFC Wild Card victory posted earlier in the year.  In that case, viewers cared more about the NFL and Tebowmania than the Olympics.

In last night’s case, viewers cared more about a preseason game—and quarterback Peyton Manning—than the Olympics.  The ratings prove that football truly is America’s Game.