NBC/NBCSN Average of 25.7 Million Viewers Nearly Triples Combined Total of Other Broadcast Nets
Total Audience Delivery Provides Record 15% Boost to NBC Sunday Primetime Viewership – As Viewers Continue to Watch on Multiple Platforms
NBC Sports Digital Sets Winter Games Record – Passing Full 2014 Sochi Olympics in Live Streaming Minutes after Only 5 Days
NBC/NBCSN Viewership Peaked at Nearly 30 Million Viewers during Women’s Free Skate in Team Figure Skating Event
STAMFORD, Conn. – February 12, 2018 – The opening Sunday of the PyeongChang Olympics delivered the most dominant Winter Games Sunday night ever for NBC Olympics, as primetime coverage posted a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) average of 26.0 million viewers, according to live plus same day fast national data released today by Nielsen, and digital data from Adobe Analytics. (Nielsen “out of home” viewership will be available this week.)
Last night’s NBC/NBCSN average of 25.7 million viewers dominated the TV competition – nearly tripling the combined 9.5 million primetime viewers for ABC, CBS and FOX. The NBC-only 22.8 million viewers in the 7-11 p.m. ET primetime window topped the other broadcast networks by 140% -- marking NBC’s most dominant Winter Games Sunday night ever (people meter history, since Sept. 1987).
RECORD TAD LIFT
- The largest NBCSN evening viewership in nearly three years and the record-setting NBC Sports Digital consumption led to last night’s record 15% TAD lift over the NBC broadcast viewership (TAD chart below). Previously, the largest lift was 14% on the opening Saturday of the 2016 Rio Olympics.
- NBC Olympics’ Total Audience Delivery measures broader consumption by calculating average minute viewing across broadcast, cable, and digital.
NBC SPORTS DIGITAL ECLIPSES FULL SOCHI GAMES
- Only five days into the PyeongChang Olympics, NBC Sports Digital has established a Winter Games record with 445 million live streaming minutes through Monday afternoon – topping the 420 million live streaming minutes for the full 2014 Sochi Olympics.
- NBC Sports Digital delivered an average minute audience of 309,000 for last night’s coverage – the best primetime competition figure for PyeongChang to date.
NBCSN POSTS LARGEST EVENING VIEWERSHIP SINCE 2015
- NBCSN averaged 3.0 million primetime viewers last night – the network’s best viewership in the 7-11 p.m. window since 2015 (3.1 million for the NASCAR Cup Series Race in Bristol on August 22, 2015). Coverage featured American Jamie Anderson winning gold in the women’s slopestyle, plus mixed doubles curling and the men’s biathlon.
ADDITIONALLY…
- Last night’s viewership on NBC/NBCSN peaked at 29.7 million viewers from 9:45-10 p.m. ET, highlighted by the women’s free skate in the team figure skating event.
- NBC’s PyeongChang Olympics broadcast last night (7-11:12 p.m. ET) averaged 22.7 million viewers and posted a 12.4/22 household rating. Viewership includes the West Coast primetime encore.
TOTAL AUDIENCE DELIVERY FOR PYEONGCHANG OLYMPIC COMPETITION
| Date | Total Audience Delivery | NBC-only viewership | TAD Lift |
| Thur. 2/8 | 17.2 million | 16.0 million | 8% |
| Sat. 2/10 | 24.2 million | 21.4 million | 13% |
| Sun. 2/11 | 26.0 million | 22.7 million | 15% |
OLYMPIC COMPETITION TOTAL AUDIENCE DELIVERY
| PYC 2018 | Sochi 2014** | PYC 2018 | Sochi 2014** | |
| Day | Viewership | Viewership | HH Rating | HH Rating |
| Opening Thurs. | 17.2 million | 20.0 million | 9.7 rating | 11.3 rating |
| First Sat. | 24.2 million | 25.1 million | 13.1 rating | 13.9 rating |
| First Sun. | 26.0 million | 26.3 million | 14.2 rating | 14.4 rating |
**NOTE: The 2014 Sochi Olympics had no simultaneous live streaming and no competing primetime Olympic cable coverage. Both of those platforms are included in Total Audience Delivery for the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics.
TOP 10 METERED MARKETS FOR NBC/NBCSN SUNDAY PRIMETIME:
| 1. Salt Lake City | 25.9/45 |
| 2. Denver | 24.5/43 |
| 3. Milwaukee | 23.9/36 |
| 4. Portland | 23.6/41 |
| 5. Kansas City | 23.1/35 |
| 6. Seattle | 22.2/41 |
| T7. Austin | 21.4/36 |
| T7. San Diego | 21.4/40 |
| 9. Minneapolis | 20.7/37 |
| 10. Sacramento | 19.8/37 |
ABOUT NBC OLYMPICS
A division of NBC Sports Group, NBC Olympics is responsible for producing, programming and promoting NBCUniversal’s Olympic Games coverage. It is renowned for its unsurpassed Olympic heritage, award-winning production, and ability to aggregate the largest audiences in U.S. television history. NBCUniversal owns the U.S. media rights on all platforms to all Olympic Games through 2032.
— PYEONGCHANG 2018 —