Thursday TV Ratings 8/1/24: Summer Olympics Rise, NFL Preseason Down from 2023 Start, Just the Facts with Steve Ballmer Pitiful for Fox [+ Analysis]

Ratings Analysis: The Summer Olympics (2.63, +0.30) picked up three-tenths on NBC, recovering noticeably after Wednesday's harsh decline. ABC's Texans v. Bears NFL game (0.63) was two ratings points below the Olympics, but that was enough to make it the second highest-rated program of the night. On CBS, Big Brother (0.53, -0.02) declined slightly from last Thursday's episode. Repeats of Young Sheldon (0.15), Ghosts (0.10), and The Real CSI: Miami (0.09) followed. Fox aired a repeat of Don't Forget the Lyrics! (0.13) and Just the Facts with Steve Ballmer (0.05). The latter posted a rating so poor that it could only tie the CW's broadcast of Miss Teen USA 2024 (0.05). Key: (R) = repeat.

Time	Show	18-49 Rating	18-49 Share	Viewers (mil)	Network
8 PM	2024 Summer Olympics	2.63	30	15.53	NBC
	NFL Hall of Fame Game: Texans v. Bears	0.63	7	3.12	ABC
	Big Brother	0.53	6	2.76	CBS
	Don't Forget the Lyrics! (R)	0.13	2	0.96	Fox
	Miss Teen USA 2024	0.05	1	0.47	CW
9 PM	Young Sheldon (R)	0.15	2	1.49	CBS
	Just the Facts with Steve Ballmer	0.05	1	0.40	Fox
9:30 PM	Ghosts (R)	0.10	1	1.41	CBS
10 PM	The Real CSI: Miami (R)	0.09	1	1.10	CBS

Cable:

Show	Network	18-49 Viewers	Viewers (mil.)
NFL Hall of Fame Game: Texans v. Bears	ESPN	0.59	1.81
2024 Summer Olympics	USA	0.29	1.08
Jesse Watters Primetime	Fox News	0.17	2.93
Real Housewives of Orange County	Bravo	0.17	0.62
Gutfeld!	Fox News	0.15	2.34
Impractical Jokers	TBS	0.07	0.27