If it's not already, it will soon be agreed that Comcast's (Nasdaq: CMCSA) NBCUniversal unit got it right when it came to the saturation coverage of this summer's Olympics in London on NBC's multiple broadcast and cable networks and online sites.
The latest to jump aboard the NBC bandwagon are the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press and the Pew Internet & American Life Project, which interviewed 1,005 adults from Aug. 2-5 and found that "nearly eight in ten (78 percent) of Americans say they have watched or followed Olympic coverage either on television, online or on social networks" and that NBC is doing a pretty good job presenting it.
How well online viewing is doing depends on whether you see your glass as half empty or just being filled. The report concluded that "television remains far and away the leading platform for Olympic coverage" with 73 percent saying they watched it on television.
"Still," the research organization continued, "17 percent say they have watched online or digitally and 12 percent report they have followed Olympic coverage on social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter."
Interestingly, the report indicated that most viewers stick to their old habits, despite the availability of round-the-clock coverage. Sixty-eight percent of viewers said they watched events in the evening, while only 23 percent said they watched live during the day.
NBC, the report said, got it right in the eyes of most viewers.
"Although there has been criticism of NBC's coverage expressed online on social media sites like Twitter, the coverage is rated about equally well by those who are watching online and following on social networks (70 percent excellent/good) and those watching on television (77 percent). There is little difference in the rating given by those watching events live (85 percent excellent/good) and those watching in the evening after the events have occurred (75 percent)."
The research conclusion is sure to warm the hearts of those occupying the Comcast tower in Philadelphia: Of the 1,005 adults surveyed about the Olympics, 76 percent described it as excellent (29 percent) or good (47 percent) while 18 percent described it as only fair (13 percent) or poor (5 percent).
For more:
- see this news release
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