NBC may have earned the lowest overnight rating ever for primetime coverage of the Olympic Games.
Friday’s primetime coverage of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics earned a mere 9.4 overnight rating on NBC, easily the lowest of the Olympics. The previous low was a 10.3 overnight for last Saturday’s coverage.
The 9.4 overnight is possibly the lowest ever for a primetime Olympic telecast, though full data is not available. The Closing Ceremony of the 2006 Turin Olympics, which earned the lowest final rating on record for a primetime Olympic telecast (8.9), had a higher overnight than Friday’s coverage (9.9).
It is certainly no coincidence that the three lowest primetime overnights of the 2014 Olympics have been on Friday and Saturday nights — the two lowest rated nights of the week. With that in mind, it is entirely possible that NBC may earn even lower numbers for Saturday’s telecast.
(Fri. overnight from NBC Sports)
