Sochi Olympics Hockey - H 2014
AP Photo/Mark HumphreyThe Winter Olympics again saw virtually no broadcast competition on Sunday night, giving NBC easy victories among total viewers and adults 18-49.
Sunday’s Sochi games averaged a 4.8 rating among adults 18-49 and 21.1 million viewers during primetime. Both figures mark more dips from the last Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Compared to the same night in 2010, the games were down nearly 20 percent in the key demographic.
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So while Sochi started very much on par with Vancouver, and stronger than Torino, coverage is showing signs of fatigue after more than a week blanketing NBC. Through Sunday, Sochi is down 15 percent from Vancouver among adults 18-49 — and 12 percent among total viewers. Sochi’s average score in the key demo is also down from where Torino was at this point, though only by a very modest 3 percent.
Sunday saw Matt Lauer again fill in for Bob Costas, who has been battling an eye infection. Costas returns to run the NBC coverage on Monday night.
