NBC Draws 31.7 Million Viewers for Sochi Olympics Opening Ceremony; 2nd Most-Watched Winter Opener Ever

NBC's coverage of the Opening Ceremony of the Sochi Olympics averaged 31.7 million viewers to rank as the most-watched Opening Ceremony for a non-live Winter Games since the 1994 Lillehammer Games, according to live plus same day fast national data released today by The Nielsen Company. In addition, last night's telecast ranks #2 all-time among most-watched non-live Winter Olympics Opening Ceremonies (chart below).

NBC SPORTS GROUP CHAIRMAN MARK LAZARUS: "Like Team USA, we're off to a great start, and we're gratified that the American audience tuned in in such large numbers for the tremendous Opening Ceremony from Sochi. It's an early sign that our strategy of emphasizing Primetime viewing is working, and we're excited for the competition over the next two weeks."

· Viewership for the NBC telecast (8-11:08 p.m. ET/PT) was up 43% from the last non-live Winter Games Opening Ceremony (22.2 million for 2006 Torino Games) while last night's 17.0/28 household rating/share produced a 33% increase over Torino (12.8/21).

· Compared to the live (ET/CT) 2010 Vancouver Opening Ceremony, last night's telecast was off only two percent in household rating (17.3/30) and three percent in viewership (32.7 million).

· NBC scored the most dominant Primetime Winter Olympics victory on record in Adults 18-49 with an 8.7 rating, and 235% above the combined ABC/CBS/FOX rating (based on People Meter, which dates to 1987).

MOST-WATCHED NON-LIVE WINTER OLYMPICS OPENING CEREMONIES, AVERAGE VIEWERS (P2+):
1. Lillehammer - 1994 33.8 Million CBS
2. Sochi - 2014 31.7 Million NBC
3. Nagano - 1998 27.2 Million CBS
4. Albertville - 1992 24.0 Million CBS
5. Torino - 2006 22.2 Million NBC

TOP 20 METERED MARKETS FOR OPENING CEREMONY:
Market HH rating/share
1. Minneapolis 26.0/45
2. Salt Lake City 24.4/43
3. Ft. Meyers 21.7/34
4. Chicago 21.6/34
T5. Boston 21.5/37
T5. Kansas City 21.5/34
7. Milwaukee 20.7/35
8. Denver 20.5/36
T9. Portland 20.4/33
T9. Buffalo 20.4/33
11. Washington, D.C. 20.2/35
12. Columbus 20.0/33
13. Sacramento 19.4/30
14. Indianapolis 19.3/32
15. St. Louis 19.1/31
T16. Norfolk 19.0/30
T16. Providence 19.0/30
T16. Dayton 19.0/29
19. Pittsburgh 18.9/29
20. Orlando 18.7/29

Jim Bell served as executive producer of NBC's Opening Ceremony coverage; Joe Michaels, director; Joe Gesue and Rebecca Chatman producers.

ABOUT NBC OLYMPICS: A division of the NBC Sports Group, NBC Olympics is responsible for producing, programming and promoting NBCUniversal's Olympic coverage. It is renowned for its unsurpassed Olympic heritage, award-winning production, and ability to aggregate the largest audiences in U.S. television history.

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