FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, February 24th, 2014

NBC WRAPS UP SOCHI OLYMPICS COVERAGE WITH BROADCAST PRIMETIME’S #1 AND #2 SHOWS ON SUNDAY

Closing Ceremony Viewership Ranks #1 in Primetime & Up 2% from 2006 Torino Closing Ceremony

Special Nancy & Tonya Documentary is 2nd Most-Watched Show of the Night

NBC Averages 21.4 Million Primetime Viewers for Sochi Winter Games – Up 6% from Last European Winter Olympics in Torino in 2006

STAMFORD, Conn. – February 24, 2014 – NBC concluded its coverage of the XXII Olympic Winter Games from Sochi, Russia with its two primetime telecasts – the Closing Ceremony and the special Nancy & Tonya documentary – ranking #1 and #2 on broadcast television in household rating and average viewership, according to live plus same day fast national data released today by The Nielsen Company.

The Closing Ceremony (8:33-10:36 p.m. ET) averaged 15.1 million viewers and an 8.7 household rating/13 share – both #1 in broadcast primetime.  The Sochi Games Closing Ceremony also topped by 2% the viewership for the 2006 Torino Games (14.8 million).

The Nancy & Tonya documentary (7-8:33 p.m. ET), in which Mary Carillo looked back at the events surrounding the ladies’ figure skating competition at the 1994 Olympic Winter Games and featured an exclusive sit-down with Nancy Kerrigan and a one-on-one interview with Tonya Harding, ranked second in broadcast primetime with 12.7 million viewers and a 7.8 household rating/12 share.

  • The Closing Ceremony for the 2006 Torino Winter Games averaged 14.8 million viewers with an 8.9 household rating/13 share. The 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics Closing Ceremony – which followed that afternoon’s dramatic overtime Team USA-Canada men’s gold medal hockey game – averaged 21.4 million viewers with a 12.1 household rating/19 share.
  • For the Sochi Winter Olympics from the Opening Ceremony on Feb. 7 through the Closing Ceremony, NBC averaged 21.4 million viewers for its primetime Sochi Olympics coverage – up 6% from the 20.2 million average for the last European Winter Games in Torino in 2006.  NBC’s 12.3 household rating/20 share for primetime also topped the Torino Games (12.2 household rating/19 share).  NBC’s primetime coverage of the live (ET/CT) 2010 Vancouver Games averaged 24.4 million viewers with a 13.8 household rating/23 share.

**NOTE** – Complete Olympic ratings, viewership and digital metrics will be released Tuesday.

 

TOP 10 METERED MARKETS FOR SUNDAY’S CLOSING CEREMONY ON NBC

Market HH rating/share
1. Minneapolis 15.6/24
2. Ft. Myers 13.5/19
3. Salt Lake City 13.3/24
4. Milwaukee 13.1/20
5. Buffalo 12.3/18
T6. Denver 12.2/20
T6. Providence 12.2/17
8. Chicago 12.0/18
9. West Palm Beach 11.8/18
10. Austin 11.4/18

 

ABOUT NBC OLYMPICS

A division of the NBC Sports Group, NBC Olympics is responsible for producing, programming and promoting NBCUniversal’s Olympic coverage. It is renowned for its unsurpassed Olympic heritage, award-winning production, and ability to aggregate the largest audiences in U.S. television history.

–NBC OLYMPICS–