On Wednesday night, the Olympics played the role of Buster Douglas to American Idol’s Mike Tyson.
Coverage of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics drew a 16.7/27 rating and 29.4 million viewers on NBC Wednesday night, up 48% and 64%, respectively, from the comparable night of the 2006 Turin Olympics (11.3/18, 17.9 mil).
Compared to the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, Wednesday’s coverage was down 5% in ratings (16.7/27 to 17.5/28), but up 7% in viewership from (29.4 mil to 27.4 mil). This is the first time that the Vancouver Olympics has drawn more viewers than the comparable night in ’02.
The telecast was also up 9% from the comparable night of the ’98 Nagano Olympics (15.3/24).
The Winter Olympics easily outdrew American Idol on FOX. From 9-10 PM, the Olympics won the head-to-head battle by 63% in ratings (17.0 to 10.4), 64% in viewers (30.1 mil to 18.4 mil), and 30% among adults 18-49 (9.0 to 6.9).
This is the first time since Spring 2004 that any program has outdrawn American Idol head-to-head.
On the comparable night of the 2006 Turin Olympics, American Idol won the head-to-head battle 81% in ratings, 102% in viewers and 193% among adults 18-49.
Denver was the top market for Wednesday’s coverage, with a 29.3/45. Following were Minneapolis (27.1/44), Milwaukee (27.1/41) and Salt Lake City (27.0/42).
