Final US Olympic Swimming Trials Ratings Show 26% Increase Over 2021

By Braden Keith on SwimSwam

The U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials drew an average of 3.4 million primetime viewers on NBC and Peacock, a 26% increase from 2021, NBC is reporting.

That is a slight uptick even from the early numbers the television rights holder reported early in the meet. It is also an increase from the 2.7 million reported for the 2021 Trials.

While daily numbers were not available to compare on a granular level to 2021, historical patterns show that the numbers likely tapered off later in the meet then hit their peak on the final day of competition, which has limited swimming events but includes the announcement of the Olympic Team.

NBC also reports an average of 2.3 million viewers for the Olympic Diving Trials that ran concurrently in Knoxville which is an 18% increase from 2021.

Other Data from NBC:

• The Olympic Trials have delivered more than 100 million impressions on NBC Sports’ YouTube page, with Richardson’s victory in the 100 meters the most-watched clip with approximately 1.5 million views.
• Fans are engaging with NBC Olympics content more than twice as much as the 2021 Olympic Trials (up 107%), with more than 3.6 million interactions across all social media platforms.
• Gretchen Walsh’s World Record in the 100 fly semi-finals is the most-viewed swimming race video on the NBC Sports channel with 134,000 views, followed by Simone Manuel’s 100 free heat with 122,000 views.
• The collective “US Olympic Trials” had a 2.08% share last week, leading all programming throughout the week.

SwimSwam: Final US Olympic Swimming Trials Ratings Show 26% Increase Over 2021