After a somewhat deflated performance on Wednesday night, Thursday proved little different for NBC's coverage of the Winter Olympics. The eighth night in Sochi averaged a 5.9 rating among adults 18-49, down 17 percent from the comparable night in Vancouver.

Among total viewers, the games averaged 22.9 million viewers -- off a less steep 9 percent from the last Winter Games. Now just over a week in, the games are down 12 percent for an average 6.6 rating in the key demo, and 9 percent with viewers for an average 24.3 million.

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Competition was again at a minimum, with only Fox airing all originals on the Big Four. American Idol (2.9 adults) was almost completely steady, down just a tenth of a point from last Thursday's airing against the Olympic debut. Rake (1.1 adults) was also steady to give Fox a 1.4 rating with adults 18-49 and 6.95 million viewers for the night.

CBS encores edged out ABC, which did have one original with The Taste. Averaging a 0.9 rating among adults 18-49, tying a low, the two-hour culinary competition was off by a tenth of a point from last week.

The Big Bang Theory proved one of the bigger shows of the night -- even as a repeat. It averaged a 2.8 rating among adults 18-49, virtually tying the original Idol.