The 2010 Winter Olympics ended as it began: with a big increase in television ratings.
Sunday’s Closing Ceremony of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics drew a 12.1/19 rating and 21.4 million viewers on NBC Sunday night, up 36% in ratings and 45% in viewership from 2006 (Turin; 8.9/13, 14.8 mil), but down 46% and 45%, respectively, from 2002 (Salt Lake City; 22.3/33, 38.7 mil).
Compared to the Closing Ceremony of the 1998 Nagano Olympics, Sunday’s rating was up 1% from a 12.0/18.
Notably, the Closing Ceremony drew a lower rating and fewer viewers than the Men’s Hockey Gold Medal Game earlier in the day (15.2/30, 27.6 mil).
Salt Lake City was Sunday’s top market, with a 20.1/32. Milwaukee (20.0/28), Denver (19.1/29), West Palm Beach (18.0/25) and Austin, TX (17.7/26) made up the rest of the top five.
To put the numbers in perspective, the Closing Ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics drew a 15.5/25 and 27.8 million viewers.
