Opening Ceremony Ratings Top Rio, Down From '14

For the first time since 2002, Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony ratings surpassed the previous Summer Games.

Friday’s Opening Ceremony of the Winter Olympics earned a 14.7 rating and 27.8 million viewers on NBC, per Nielsen fast-nationals — down 14% in ratings and 12% in viewership from 2014 (17.0, 31.7M) and down 15% in both measures from 2010 (17.3, 32.6M). Compared to the most recent Olympics, the 2016 Summer Games, ratings increased 6% and viewership 5% from a 13.9 and 26.5 million.

Across NBC Sports digital platforms, 449,000 streamed the Opening Ceremony either live at 6 AM ET or during NBC’s tape-delayed broadcast. With those viewers included, the event had 28.3 million viewers — still down from the previous two Winter Olympics but up a slightly-higher 6% from 2016 (26.7M).

NBC’s telecast, which peaked with 31.5 million viewers from 9-9:15 PM ET, was the first Winter Olympics opening ceremony to outdraw the previous Summer edition since 2002. That year, the Opening Ceremony of the Salt Lake City Olympics (25.5, 45.6M) easily topped Sydney two years earlier (16.2, 27.3M).

It was also the most-watched Friday night television show since the 2014 Opening Ceremony, a stretch that includes four World Series games, two NBA Finals games, and five other Olympic broadcasts.

Going back further, the numbers are not quite as impressive. Friday’s telecast topped only Rio in 2016 as the lowest rated and least-watched Opening Ceremony since 2006 (Turin: 12.8, 22.2M). The Opening Ceremony topped a 17.0 rating and 30 million viewers from 2008-14.

Even so, given the sharp ratings declines suffered by other TV giants — from the NFL to “The Walking Dead” — NBC will happily take Friday’s unexpectedly strong results.

As was the case Thursday, the top eight local markets for Friday’s Opening Ceremony were in the Mountain or Pacific time zones. This year is the first time NBC is presenting primetime Olympic coverage at the same time nationwide, rather than tape delaying the West Coast broadcast an addition two or three hours.

Salt Lake City led the way with a 29.6 rating, up 21% from the last Winter Olympics in 2014 (24.4) and up 71% from Rio two years ago (17.3). Denver ranked second at a 27.4, up 34% from 2014 (20.5) and up 50% from Rio (18.2).

San Diego was third at a 25.1, up 55% from 2014 (16.2), followed by Seattle (24.0, +30%), Sacramento (23.4, +21%), Portland (23.0, +13%), the Bay Area (21.1, +22%) and Los Angeles (20.9, +33%)

West Palm Beach, Fla., was the top Eastern market with a 20.0 rating. Buffalo rounded out the top ten at a 19.8 (-3%). While West Coast markets soared, a slew of Eastern and Central markets suffered declines. Minneapolis-St. Paul plunged 29% from first place in 2014 (26.0) to a tie for 14th this year (18.4). Also on the decline: Washington D.C. (18.4, -9%), Ft. Myers, Fla. (19.7, -9%), Milwaukee (19.6, -5%), Kansas City (18.1, -16%), Columbus (17.8, -11%) and Chicago (17.6, -20%).