Boosted by a bevy of U.S. stars, the Winter Olympics on NBC thumped American Idol Wednesday night.
Coverage of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics drew a 19.3 overnight rating on NBC Wednesday night, the highest overnight rating thus far for these Olympic games. Overnight ratings for the comparable night in Turin were unavailable.
The Olympics dominated American Idol head-to-head, topping the reality show by 61% from 9-10 PM (19.8 to 12.3). On the comparable night of the ’06 Winter Olympics, American Idol won the head-to-head battle by 65%.
This is the first time in six years that any television program has beaten American Idol head-to-head.
NBC dominated the night in primetime, topping second-place FOX by 129% in total viewers and by 91% in the adults 18-49 demographic, according to Nielsen fast-affiliate date.
