Pyeongchang Olympics Opening Night Ratings Slip 6 Percent From Sochi's Start

Pyeongchang’s not exactly Sochi, but the chilly 2018 Winter Olympics are off to a pretty hot start on NBC and NBC Sports Network.

The two channels combined for a 11.1 rating/19 share last night in Nielsen’s overnight TV ratings. That’s down 6 percent from 2014’s first competitions, which received an 11.8 on NBC broadcast alone. So there’s a bit of an asterisk here, admittedly.

Still, South Korea’s opening action ties for the highest-rated Thursday primetime show since NBC’s NFL Kickoff Game on Sept. 7, 2017.

Also Read: Olympics Opening Ceremony: The Shirtless Tongan Has Returned (Video)

On Thursday, NBC broadcast featured figure skating, qualifying in the men’s and women’s moguls competitions, and qualifying in men’s ski jumping. NBCSN presented curling, men’s luge, and alpine skiing (training sessions).

Here are the night’s top U.S. markets and their returns:
Salt Lake City 17.7/33
Sacramento 17.2/32
Seattle 16.6/31
San Diego 16.4/31
Portland 15.6/29
Denver 15.4/28
Los Angeles 15.0/28
West Palm Beach 14.2/22
Pittsburgh 13.8/22
Minneapolis 13.5/25

8 Coolest Ways the Olympic Torch Has Been Lit (Photos)

Los Angeles, 1984: Decathlete Rafer Johnson climbed a staircase to light a tube which carried the flame through the Olympic rings up to the cauldron.
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Barcelona, 1992: Paralympic archer Antonio Rebollo shot an arrow lit by the flame into the cauldron.
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Atlanta, 1996: Boxer Muhammad Ali was called on to finish the torch relay and ignite the flame.
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Nagano, 1998: The flame was split into three and carried around the country before arriving in Nagano, Japan where they were reunited in Central Square.
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Salt Lake City, 2002: The winning U.S. men’s ice hockey team from the 1980 Winter Games in Lake Placid lit the torch as a group.
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Beijing, 2008: Gymnast Ning Li was carried around the stadium on wires to complete the torch relay.
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Vancouver, 2010: Olympians Nancy Greene Raine, Wayne Gretzky, Steve Nash and Catriona Le May Doan were tasked with lighting four arms of the cauldron, which carried the flame up toward the center. However, Le May Doan's portion failed to light due to a technical difficulty.
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London, 2012: Seven young athletes aged 16 to 19 were brought out to light the cauldron, to "symbolize the passing of the Olympic flame to the young generation."
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