A final look at ratings for NBC’s primetime Winter Olympics coverage, which ended with all-time lows on the final weekend of the Games.
Final primetime viewership for the Beijing Winter Olympics was unchanged from the preliminary numbers released last week, with coverage averaging 10.7 million viewers on NBC alone and 11.4 million across-all-platforms. The February 20 Closing Ceremony averaged a 3.6 rating and 6.57 million viewers on NBC, down 56% from 2018 and the least-watched night of any Olympics on broadcast television. A full 13 of NBC’s 18 primetime windows averaged fewer than ten million viewers.
The final night of competition on February 19 averaged a 3.6 (-46%) and 6.77 million (-42%) on NBC, with that figure rising to a 4.4 and 8.36 million including USA and CNBC. Coverage the previous night averaged a 4.0 (-46%) and 7.25 million (-44%) on NBC and just 8.34 million with the cable networks included.
Night-by-night ratings, viewership for the Beijing Winter Olympics
| Date | Night | NBC | USA | CNBC | TOTAL (TV-ONLY) |
“TAD” | ||||
| Thu 2/3 | Bonus night | 4.1 | 7.25M | 0.3 | 512K | no telecast | 4.4 | 7.76M | 8.0M | |
| Fri 2/4 | Opening Ceremony |
5.6 | 10.76M | no telecast | no telecast | 5.6 | 10.76M | 12.8M | ||
| Sat 2/5 | Night 1 | 5.3 | 10.15M | 1.2 | 2.49M | 0.25 | 528K | 6.8 | 13.17M | 13.6M |
| Sun 2/6 | Night 2 | 6.0 | 11.00M | 1.0 | 1.86M | no telecast | 6.9 | 12.86M | 13.7M | |
| Mon 2/7 | Night 3 | 4.9 | 8.45M | 1.1 | 2.07M | 0.17 | 355K | 6.2 | 10.87M | 11.5M |
| Tue 2/8 | Night 4 | 4.8 | 8.35M | 1.0 | 1.73M | 0.14 | 264K | 5.9 | 10.34M | 11.0M |
| Wed 2/9 | Night 5 | 5.5 | 9.79M | 0.8 | 1.44M | 0.12 | 217K | 6.5 | 11.45M | 12.0M |
| Thu 2/10 | Night 6 | 6.2 | 11.09M | 0.7 | 1.15M | 0.21 | 356K | 7.0 | 12.59M | 13.2M |
| Fri 2/11 | Night 7 | 4.6 | 8.57M | 0.6 | 1.11M | 0.16 | 281K | 5.4 | 9.97M | n.a. |
| Sat 2/12 | Night 8 | 4.4 | 8.24M | 0.7 | 1.29M | 0.23 | 436K | 5.3 | 9.97M | n.a. |
| Sun 2/13 | Night 9 | 9.8 | 21.28M | 0.7 | 1.21M | no telecast | 10.5 | 22.49M | 24.0M | |
| Mon 2/14 | Night 10 | 4.5 | 7.87M | 0.6 | 1.07M | 0.27 | 507K | 5.4 | 9.45M | n.a. |
| Tue 2/15 | Night 11 | 4.9 | 8.70M | 0.6 | 1.04M | 0.23 | 405K | 5.8 | 10.14M | 10.6M |
| Wed 2/16 | Night 12 | 3.9 | 6.93M | 0.5 | 909K | 0.36 | 637K | 4.8 | 8.48M | n.a. |
| Thu 2/17 | Night 13 | 5.0 | 8.52M | 0.6 | 1.02M | 0.22 | 400K | 5.7 | 9.94M | n.a. |
| Fri 2/18 | Night 14 | 4.0 | 7.25M | 0.5 | 913K | n.a. | 176K | n.a. | 8.34M | n.a. |
| Sat 2/19 | Night 15 | 3.6 | 6.77M | 0.7 | 1.38M | 0.11 | 208K | 4.4 | 8.36M | n.a. |
| Sun 2/20 | Closing Ceremony |
3.6 | 6.57M | no telecast | no telecast | 3.6 | 6.57M | n.a. | ||
[Nielsen estimates from ShowBuzz Daily, NBC]
