The numbers are in for Wednesday and Thursday on the networks of NBC. Wednesday’s ratings were delayed due to the snowstorm on the East Coast, but they are now available.
Continuing the trend from the start of the 2014 Sochi Games, NBC’s Olympic primetime is trailing Vancouver. Wednesday’s average rating of 12.1 with a 19 share was down significantly from the 2010 Vancouver Games which were mostly live. The opening Wednesday broadcast in 2010 received a 16.7/27. Viewership for Wednesday averaged 20.8 million while 2010 saw 29.4 million. Compared to Turin in 2006, it’s much better as it received a 11.3/18 for the comparable night.
On Thursday, NBC’s rating increased from the night before with a 13.4/21. Viewership averaged just under 23 million. By comparison, that’s down from Vancouver’s 14.5/24 and 24.8 million viewers. Turin received an 11.9/19 and 19.4 million viewers.
NBCSN’s live coverage between 6 a.m. and 3 p.m. ET on Thursday averaged 1.4 million viewers for airings of the USA men’s hockey and the men’s figure skating short program. That set the 6th consecutive new standard for viewership on the channel.
Here’s what we have from NBC on the ratings.
151 MILLION VIEWERS – MORE THAN HALF OF ALL AMERICAN TV VIEWERS – HAVE WATCHED THE SOCHI WINTER OLYMPICS ON THE NETWORKS OF NBCUNIVERSAL
NBC Primetime Viewership Up All 7 Nights from Last European Winter Games in Turin in 2006
NBCSN Posts Record Audience for 6th Consecutive Day
NBC’s Winter Olympics Late Night Show Averaging Best Viewership in More than Two Decades
NBC Sports Live Extra Tallies Record 6.9 Million Live Minutes for U.S.-Slovakia Men’s Hockey GameSTAMFORD, Conn. – February 14, 2014 – More than half of all American television viewers have watched the 2014 Sochi Winter Games on the networks of NBCUniversal, according to fast cume data provided by The Nielsen Company.
Through Thursday, 150.9 million Americans have watched the 2014 Sochi Olympics on NBCUniversal networks NBC, NBCSN, CNBC, MSNBC and USA. On Thursday, NBC aired its first-ever Winter Olympics telecast prior to the Friday night Opening Ceremony. Saturday was the first full day of coverage, which included live competition on NBCSN and MSNBC. CNBC and USA began coverage on Monday.
- Last night’s primetime Olympics telecast on NBC (8-11:03 p.m. ET) averaged 22.9 million viewers, up 18% from the corresponding Thursday of the 2006 Torino Games (19.4 million) and marking the seventh consecutive night – every night beginning with the Opening Ceremony — that NBC’s primetime P2+ viewership has topped viewership of the last European Winter Olympics in Torino, according to live plus same day fast national data released today by The Nielsen Company.
- NBC’s Thursday night 13.4 household rating/21 share topped the comparable night for Torino by 13% (11.9/19) – marking the seventh consecutive night that Sochi coverage beat (six times) or tied (once) Torino in household rating. NBC’s live (ET/CT) coverage of the comparable Thursday of the 2010 Vancouver Games posted a 14.5 household rating/24 share and averaged 24.8 million viewers.
- NBCSN continued its record-breaking streak on Thursday – marking the sixth consecutive day the network set a viewership milestone. NBCSN averaged a weekday best-ever 1.4 million viewers for yesterday’s 6 am-3 pm ET time period which featured the U.S. men’s hockey team’s Sochi debut and men’s figure skating. Earlier in the week, NBCSN set daily weekday viewership marks for its live Monday through Wednesday coverage and weekend daytime records for its Saturday and Sunday telecasts.
- On NBC Sports Live Extra, the U.S. men’s hockey team’s 7-1 victory against Slovakia on Thursday accounted for 6.9 million minutes of live streaming – a record for a TV Everywhere/authenticated hockey game.
- NBC’s Olympics late night show is averaging 6.9 million viewers for its six telecasts through Thursday – marking the most-watched Winter Olympics late night show at this point in 22 years (1992 Albertville Games). Viewership for the Sochi late night show is up 38% over Vancouver and 35% over Torino.
- Wednesday night’s primetime Olympics telecast on NBC (8-11:10 p.m. ET) averaged 20.8 million viewers and a 12.1 household rating/19 share – up 16% and 7% respectively from the last European Winter Olympics (17.9 million with 11.3/18 for Torino in 2006). The corresponding Wednesday coverage of the 2010 Vancouver Games — which featured Lindsey Vonn, Shaun White, and Shani Davis winning gold medals and a Winter Olympics-record six medals for the U.S. team – averaged 29.4 million viewers with a 16.7 HH rating/27 share.
TOP 10 METERED MARKETS TO DATE FOR NBC PRIMETIME COVERAGE (Thurs., Feb. 6-Thurs., Feb. 13):
Market HH rating/share 1. Minneapolis 21.5/36 2. Salt Lake City 20.9/38 3. Denver 19.6/33 4. Milwaukee 18.5/30 5. Kansas City 17.9/28 6. Ft. Myers 17.7/27 7. Indianapolis 17.4/29 8. Portland 17.2/29 9. Boston 16.6/28 10. Chicago 16.4/26
More stuff is on the way.
