FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, February 14th, 2018
NBC OLYMPICS’ PYEONGCHANG COVERAGE DELIVERED MOST DOMINANT WINTER GAMES TUESDAY NIGHT EVER, WITH TAD OF 22.6 MILLION VIEWERS
With First-Ever Nightly Winter Games Coverage, NBCSN Ranks as #1 Primetime Cable Network from Saturday through Tuesday
NBC “Primetime Plus” Viewership up 32% From Sochi Late Night Show
NBC Sports Digital Delivers Largest Primetime Audience for PyeongChang Competition to Date
STAMFORD, Conn. – February 14, 2018 – NBC Olympics’ coverage of the PyeongChang Olympics delivered the most dominant Winter Games Tuesday night ever, posting a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) average of 22.6 million viewers, according to live plus same day official 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 22.3 million viewers dominated the TV competition – more than doubling the combined 10.6 million primetime viewers for ABC, CBS and FOX. The NBC-only 21.0 million viewers in the 8-11 p.m. ET primetime window topped by 98% the other broadcast networks – marking the most dominant Winter Games Tuesday night ever (people meter history, since Sept. 1987).
NBCSN RANKS #1; NBC “PRIMETIME PLUS” UP 32% FROM SOCHI LATE NIGHT
- NBCSN’s live primetime coverage of the PyeongChang Olympics has averaged 2.4 million viewers since the opening Saturday night (Feb. 10) – ranking as the most-watched cable network in primetime over the four-day span from Saturday through last night.
- In addition, NBC’s “Primetime Plus” show, which follows local news broadcasts on NBC stations, is averaging a Total Audience Delivery of 9.8 million viewers though Tuesday night – up 32% from the 2014 Sochi Olympics late night show over the comparable time frame (7.4 million viewers).
NBC SPORTS DIGITAL POSTS LARGEST PRIMETIME PYEONGCHANG AUDIENCE
- NBC Sports Digital delivered its largest primetime PyeongChang viewership for a competition night, with an average minute audience of 321,000 for Tuesday night’s coverage.
- Last night’s coverage of Shaun White’s gold-medal performance in the halfpipe delivered 445,000 concurrents – ranking as the second-most streamed event in NBC Olympics’ Winter Games history, behind only the USA-Canada semi-final men’s hockey game in Sochi.
ADDITIONALLY…
- For the fourth consecutive night, the Total Audience Delivery provided an increase of at least 10% over the NBC broadcast viewership (TAD chart below). NBC Olympics’ Total Audience Delivery measures broader consumption by calculating average minute viewing across broadcast, cable, and digital.
- Last night’s NBC/NBCSN viewership peaked at 28.2 million viewers from 10-10:15 p.m. ET, highlighted by Shaun White’s gold medal run in the halfpipe and the pairs short program figure skating.
- NBC’s PyeongChang Olympics full broadcast last night (8-11:20 p.m. ET) averaged 20.5 million viewers and posted an 11.8/21 household rating. Viewership includes the West Coast primetime encore.
TOTAL AUDIENCE DELIVERY FOR PYEONGCHANG OLYMPICS
| Date | Total Audience Delivery | NBC-only viewership | TAD Lift |
| Thur. 2/8 | 17.2 million | 16.0 million | 8% |
| Fri. 2/9* | 28.3 million | 27.8 million | 2% |
| Sat. 2/10 | 24.2 million | 21.4 million | 13% |
| Sun. 2/11 | 26.0 million | 22.7 million | 15% |
| Mon. 2/12 | 22.3 million | 20.3 million | 10% |
| Tues. 2/13 | 22.6 million | 20.5 million | 10% |
| Average | 23.6 million | 21.5 million | 10% |
*Opening Ceremony (no competition & no NBCSN side-by-side coverage)
WINTER OLYMPICS 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 Fri.* | 28.3 million | 31.7 million | 14.9 rating | 17.0 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 |
| First Mon. | 22.3 million | 22.4 million | 12.7 rating | 12.8 rating |
| First Tues. | 22.6 million | 23.7 million | 13.0 rating | 13.7 rating |
| Average | 23.6 million | 25.1 million | 13.1 rating | 14.0 rating |
*Opening Ceremony (no competition & no NBCSN side-by-side coverage)
**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 TUESDAY PRIMETIME:
| 1. Salt Lake City | 24.8/46 |
| 2. Denver | 23.7/42 |
| 3. Kansas City | 22.0/35 |
| 4. Minneapolis | 21.0/38 |
| 5. Milwaukee | 20.9/33 |
| 6. Seattle | 20.1/36 |
| 7. San Diego | 18.7/35 |
| 8. Richmond | 18.5/27 |
| 9. Portland | 18.1/34 |
| 10. Austin | 17.8/31 |
Local metered market data represents NBC/NBCSN in primetime and includes the NBC West Coast encore and excludes sustainers.
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 —
