For the third time in four nights, ratings and viewership for the 2010 Winter Olympics dipped below the comparable night in ’06.
Coverage of the Vancouver Olympics drew a 13.6/23 rating and 22.9 million viewers on NBC Thursday night, down 14% in ratings and 9% in viewers from the comparable night in ’06 (Turin; 15.8/24, 25.7 mil), and down 49% and 47%, respectively, from the comparable night in ’02 (Salt Lake City; 26.8/41, 43.3 mil).
Versus the comparable night of the 1998 Nagano Olympics, Thursday’s rating was down 2% from a 13.9/22.
Thursday’s coverage outdrew American Idol on FOX in ratings (13.6/23 to 10.3/16) and total viewers (22.9 mil to 18.0 mil), the second time the Olympics has topped the FOX reality show. Overall, American Idol won three of the five head-to-head meetings with the Olympic games.
In the key adults 18-49 demographic, American Idol (6.5) beat the Olympics (6.1).
Salt Lake City was Thursday’s top rated market, with a 24.1/40. Denver (21.9/36), Milwaukee (19.5/31), Minneapolis (18.8/31) and San Diego (18.6/32) made up the rest of the top five.
Entering Friday, evening coverage of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics averaged a 14.0/23 rating and 24.7 million viewers on NBC, up 10% and 17%, respectively, from ’06 (12.7/20, 21.1 mil).
