Closing Ceremony Viewership Ranks #1 in Primetime & Up 2% from 2006 Torino Closing Ceremony
Special Nancy & Tonya Documentary is 2nd Most-Watched Show of the Night
NBC Averages 21.4 Million Primetime Viewers for Sochi Winter Games – Up 6% from Last European Winter Olympics in Torino in 2006
STAMFORD, Conn. – February 24, 2014 – NBC concluded its coverage of the XXII Olympic Winter Games from Sochi, Russia with its two primetime telecasts – the Closing Ceremony and the special Nancy & Tonya documentary – ranking #1 and #2 on broadcast television in household rating and average viewership, according to live plus same day fast national data released today by The Nielsen Company.
The Closing Ceremony (8:33-10:36 p.m. ET) averaged 15.1 million viewers and an 8.7 household rating/13 share – both #1 in broadcast primetime. The Sochi Games Closing Ceremony also topped by 2% the viewership for the 2006 Torino Games (14.8 million).
The Nancy & Tonya documentary (7-8:33 p.m. ET), in which Mary Carillo looked back at the events surrounding the ladies’ figure skating competition at the 1994 Olympic Winter Games and featured an exclusive sit-down with Nancy Kerrigan and a one-on-one interview with Tonya Harding, ranked second in broadcast primetime with 12.7 million viewers and a 7.8 household rating/12 share.
- The Closing Ceremony for the 2006 Torino Winter Games averaged 14.8 million viewers with an 8.9 household rating/13 share. The 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics Closing Ceremony – which followed that afternoon’s dramatic overtime Team USA-Canada men’s gold medal hockey game – averaged 21.4 million viewers with a 12.1 household rating/19 share.
- For the Sochi Winter Olympics from the Opening Ceremony on Feb. 7 through the Closing Ceremony, NBC averaged 21.4 million viewers for its primetime Sochi Olympics coverage – up 6% from the 20.2 million average for the last European Winter Games in Torino in 2006. NBC’s 12.3 household rating/20 share for primetime also topped the Torino Games (12.2 household rating/19 share). NBC’s primetime coverage of the live (ET/CT) 2010 Vancouver Games averaged 24.4 million viewers with a 13.8 household rating/23 share.
**NOTE** – Complete Olympic ratings, viewership and digital metrics will be released Tuesday.
TOP 10 METERED MARKETS FOR SUNDAY’S CLOSING CEREMONY ON NBC
| Market | HH rating/share |
| 1. Minneapolis | 15.6/24 |
| 2. Ft. Myers | 13.5/19 |
| 3. Salt Lake City | 13.3/24 |
| 4. Milwaukee | 13.1/20 |
| 5. Buffalo | 12.3/18 |
| T6. Denver | 12.2/20 |
| T6. Providence | 12.2/17 |
| 8. Chicago | 12.0/18 |
| 9. West Palm Beach | 11.8/18 |
| 10. Austin | 11.4/18 |
ABOUT NBC OLYMPICS
A division of the NBC Sports Group, NBC Olympics is responsible for producing, programming and promoting NBCUniversal’s Olympic coverage. It is renowned for its unsurpassed Olympic heritage, award-winning production, and ability to aggregate the largest audiences in U.S. television history.
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