NBC kept its Sochi streak alive as its Friday primetime telecast edged the corresponding night in Torino.
The Peacock’s Valentine’s night telecast from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. -- featuring a rather lackluster men's figure skating competition won by Yuzuru Hanyu -- averaged 19.2 million viewers, versus 18.9 million watchers for the corresponding night during the 2006 Winter Olympics, according to Nielsen data. It was NBC's lowest primetime delivery during the 2014 quadrennium, but it meant that NBC’s first eight curated primetime presentations topped each night from Torino, the last time the Winter Olympics were hosted in Europe.
NBC averaged an 11.0 household rating/19 share, down for the first time from Torino’s comparable 11.2/19. The corresponding Friday of the 2010 Vancouver Games posted a 13.4 household rating/23 share and averaged 23.3 million viewers.
On NBCSN, Friday marked the seventh consecutive day -- each day since its coverage began on Saturday, Feb. 8 -- the network bested the viewership from the 2012 London Summer Games, the channel's inaugurual Olympic telecasts., NBCSN averaged 977,000 viewers for yesterday’s 6 a.m.-3 p.m. time period, a 60% jump from the comparable Friday for the London Olympics.
