“Primetime Plus” Viewership Pacing as Most Watched Winter Olympics Late Night Show On Record; Up 34% from Sochi
After 8 Days, NBC Sports Digital More Than Doubles Live Streaming For Full 2014 Sochi Olympics
STAMFORD, Conn. – February 15, 2018 – NBC Olympics’ coverage of the PyeongChang Olympics delivered the most dominant Winter Games Wednesday night in 24 years, since the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Olympics, posting a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) average of 19.2 million viewers, according to live plus same day officially data released today by Nielsen, and digital data from Adobe Analytics.
Last night’s NBC/NBCSN average of 18.9 million viewers dominated the TV competition – nearly doubling the combined 9.6 million primetime viewers for ABC, CBS and FOX.
The NBC-only 17.2 million viewers in the 8-11 p.m. ET primetime window topped by 79% the other broadcast networks – marking the most dominant Winter Games Wednesday night since February 23, 1994. That February day in Lillehammer, Norway, was the first time that Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding competed against each other after Kerrigan was attacked a month earlier following a practice session at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Detroit.
“PRIMETIME PLUS” MOST WATCHED WINTER GAMES LATE NIGHT SHOW ON RECORD
- NBC’s “Primetime Plus” show, which follows local news broadcasts on NBC stations and also features live NBCSN coverage, is averaging a Total Audience Delivery of 9.4 million viewers though Wednesday night – ranking as the most-watched Winter Games late night show on record to this point (people meter history, since 1987). The PyeongChang “Primetime Plus” viewership is up 34% over the comparable time frame for the 2014 Sochi Games (7.0 million).
NBC SPORTS DIGITAL MORE THAN DOUBLES FULL SOCHI GAMES IN LIVE MINUTES STREAMED
- Only eight days into the PyeongChang Olympics, NBC Sports Digital has streamed 862 million live minutes of coverage – more than doubling the 420 million live streaming minutes for the full 2014 Sochi Olympics.
- NBC Sports Digital delivered an average minute audience of 237,000 for Wednesday night’s coverage.
ADDITIONALLY…
- For the fifth 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 21.1 million viewers from 9:30-9:45 p.m. ET, highlighted by men’s alpine skiing on NBC and pairs free figure skating on NBCSN.
- NBC’s PyeongChang Olympics full broadcast last night (8-11:14 p.m. ET) averaged 17.0 million viewers and posted a 9.9/19 household rating. Viewership includes the West Coast primetime encore.
PRIMETIME 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% |
| Wed. 2/14 | 19.2 million | 17.0 million | 13% |
| Average | 23.0 million | 20.9 million | 10% |
*Opening Ceremony (no competition & no NBCSN side-by-side coverage)
WINTER OLYMPICS PRIMETIME 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 |
| First Wed. | 19.2 million | 20.8 million | 11.2 rating | 12.1 rating |
| Average | 23.0 million | 24.5 million | 12.8 rating | 13.7 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 WEDNESDAY PRIMETIME:
| 1. Denver | 20.7/38 |
| 2. Minneapolis | 18.4/35 |
| 3. Salt Lake City | 18.3/34 |
| 4. Seattle | 17.3/33 |
| T5. Milwaukee | 16.6/29 |
| T5. Sacramento | 16.6/31 |
| 7. Kansas City | 16.5/27 |
| T8. Buffalo | 16.4/26 |
| T8. West Palm Beach | 16.4/25 |
| 10. Washington, D.C. | 16.0/29 |
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 —