Afternoon coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympics did well for NBC last weekend.
Sunday afternoon coverage of the Vancouver Olympics, featuring the Nordic Combined, Speedskating, Luge and Biathlon, drew an 8.2 final rating on NBC — up 4% from 2006 (Turin, 7.9), but down 20% from 2002 (Salt Lake City, 10.2).
The Olympics outdrew the Daytona 500, which also aired Sunday afternoon, by 7% (8.2 to 7.7).
On Saturday, coverage featuring Ski Jumping, Speedskating and Biathlon drew an 8.0 rating, up 18% from ’06 (6.8), but down 17% from ’02 (9.6).
Late night coverage of the Olympics drew a 4.4 rating on Saturday (12:30-1:30 AM), down 19% from ’06 (5.4), and down 30% from ’02 (6.3). Meanwhile, Sunday’s late night window (11:40 PM-12 AM) drew a 5.0 rating, up 52% from ’06 (3.3) and up 4% from ’02 (4.8).
Middle-of-the-night Olympic replays drew a 1.9 rating on both Saturday and Sunday.
