For the second night in a row, ratings and viewership for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics slipped below the comparable night in 2006.
Tuesday night coverage of the 2010 Winter Games drew a 12.6/20 rating and 21.3 million viewers on NBC, down 19% in ratings and 15% in viewership from the comparable night in ’06 (Turin; 15.5/23, 25.1 mil), and down 43% and 42%, respectively, from the comparable night in ’02 (Salt Lake City; 22.3/34, 36.7 mil).
Versus the comparable night of the 1998 Nagano Olympics, Tuesday’s rating was down 7% from a 13.5/21.
Tuesday’s coverage was topped by American Idol on FOX, with the reality show outdrawing the Olympics by 6% in ratings (13.4 to 12.6) and 15% in viewership (24.2 mil to 21.3 mil).
Salt Lake City was Tuesday’s top market, with a 20.7/34. Denver (19.8/33) was second, followed by Minneapolis (18.3/30), St. Louis (17.3/27) and Seattle (17.2/32).
Overall, evening coverage of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics is averaging 14.2/23 rating and 25.2 million viewers on NBC, up 14% and 20%, respectively, from 2006 (12.5/20, 21.0 mil), and the most-viewed non-U.S. Winter Olympics through 12 nights since Lillehammer in ’94 (39.4 mil).
