TV Ratings: Olympics coverage hits Sochi lows for NBC Friday

Fast National ratings for Friday, February 21, 2014.
Anchored by 18-year-old American Mikaela Shiffrin’s slalom win, NBC’s Olympics coverage still dominated Friday night, albeit with the lowest primetime numbers from Sochi.
ABC aired the only other new primetime programming and got good numbers for a new episode of “Shark Tank,” helping the network finish second among young viewers. CBS was second overall with three repeats of “Blue Bloods.”
On to the numbers…
Among adults 18-49, NBC averaged a 3.5 rating for Friday night, easily winning the key demographic. ABC was second with a 1.3 key demo rating, followed by CBS’ 0.8 key demo rating and the 0.7 key demo rating for FOX. The CW averaged a 0.3 key demo rating.
Overall, NBC averaged an estimated 14.55 million viewers and an 8.6 rating/15 share for Friday primetime. CBS was a distant second with 6.17 million viewers and a 4.0/7, topping the 5.38 million viewers and 3.5/6 for ABC. FOX was fourth with a 1.4/2 and 2.25 million viewers, followed by The CW’s 968,000 viewers and a 0.6/1.

8 p.m. – NBC’s Olympics coverage averaged 14.04 million viewers and a 3.2 rating among adults 18-49 for the 8 p.m. hour. CBS’ repeat of “Blue Bloods” was second overall with 5.33 million viewers and fourth with a 0.7 key demo rating. ABC’s two “Last Man Standing” repeats averaged 3.96 million viewers and a 0.8 key demo rating for third, compared to the 3.13 million viewers and 0.9 key demo rating for FOX’s “Bones” repeat. On The CW, two “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” repeats did a relatively strong 1.42 million viewers and 0.4 key demo rating.
9 p.m. – The second hour of NBC’s Sochi telecast averaged 15.58 million viewers and a 3.7 rating among adults 18-49. CBS remained second overall in the 9 p.m. hour with 6.325 million viewers for its “Blue Bloods” repeat, which finished third with a 0.8 key demo rating. ABC’s new “Shark Tank” averaged 6.14 million viewers for third and a 1.7 key demo rating for second on the hour. FOX was fourth with repeats of “Enlisted” (1.56 million and a 0.6 key demo) and “Raising Hope” (1.185 million and a 0.4 key demo). The CW’s repeat of “The Originals” averaged 516,000 viewers and a 0.2 key demo rating.
10 p.m. – NBC closed primetime with 14.04 million viewers and a 3.5 rating among adults 18-49 for 10 p.m. Olympics coverage. CBS’ “Blue Bloods” repeat was second with 6.855 million viewers and third with a 0.8 key demo rating, compared to the 6.045 million viewers and 1.5 key demo rating for ABC’s “20/20.”
All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.
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