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.
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