Fast National ratings for Sunday, February 16, 2014.
NBC’s coverage of the Winter Olympics from Sochi was down significantly from last Sunday, despite significantly less network competition, though the coverage was up from a sluggish Friday and Saturday.
Facing a combination of skiing and ice dancing, the other networks mostly punted on Sunday with “60 Minutes” the only non-repeat competition.
There was ample competition of cable, of course, and it seems inevitable that AMC’s “The Walking Dead” easily beat the Olympics overall, not that we’ll know for sure for a few hours.
On to the numbers…
Among adults 18-49, NBC averaged a 4.8 rating for Sunday night. That nearly doubled the combined key demo totals for FOX (1.0 rating), ABC (0.9 rating) and CBS (0.6 rating).
Overall, NBC averaged an estimated 21.075 million viewers and a 12.0 rating/19 share for Sunday. In this measurement, NBC did manage to double the competition. CBS averaged an estimated 4.17 and a 2.7/4, followed by ABC’s 2.2/4 and 3.7 million viewers. FOX averaged 2.035 million viewers and a 1.1/2 for the night.
7 p.m. – NBC swept the night starting with 17.43 million viewers and a 3.8 rating among adults 18-49 for 7 p.m. Olympics coverage. CBS’ “60 Minutes” was second overall with 8 million viewers and third with a 1.0 key demo rating. ABC’s “America’s Funniest Home Videos” repeat was third with 4.96 million viewers and second with a 1.2 key demo rating. FOX’s repeats of “Bob’s Burgers” and “Family Guy” averaged 1.485 million viewers and a 0.7 key demo rating.
8 p.m. – The Olympics coverage rose to 22.975 million viewers and a 5.1 rating among adults 18-49 for NBC in the 8 p.m. hour. CBS’ “Elementary” repeat was second overall with 3.39 million viewers and fourth with a 0.5 key demo rating. ABC’s airing of the movie “Up” averaged 3.3 million viewers and a 1.0 key demo rating for third. On FOX, repeats of “The Simpsons” and “Bob’s Burgers” finished second in the key demo with a 1.1 rating, but fourth overall with 2.3 million viewers.
9 p.m. – NBC’s Olympics telecast rose again in the 9 p.m. hour with 23.33 million viewers and a 5.6 rating among adults 18-49. ABC’s movie was second with 3.32 million viewers and third with a 0.9 key demo rating. CBS’ “The Good Wife” repeat averaged 2.65 million viewers for third and a 0.4 key demo rating for fourth, compared to the 2.32 million viewers and 1.1 key demo rating averaged by repeats of “Family Guy” and “American Dad” on FOX.
10 p.m. – The conclusion of NBC’s Olympics primetime sweep averaged 20.56 million viewers and a 4.8 rating among adults 18-49. A “Castle” repeat averaged 3.235 million viewers and a 0.7 key demo demo rating for ABC, topping the 2.65 million viewers and 0.4 key demo rating for CBS’ “The Mentalist” repeat.
All ratings information comes from preliminary Fast National Nielsen data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are subject to change.