NBC's Primtime Olympics Telecast Draws 25.1 Million Viewers

NBC's Primetime Olympics telecast on Saturday (8-11:06 p.m. ET) averaged 25.1 million viewers and a 13.9 household rating/24 share - up 8% and 3% respectively from the opening Saturday of the last European Winter Olympics (23.2 million viewers and 13.5 household rating/23 share for Torino in 2006), according to live plus same day fast national data released today by The Nielsen Company.

NBC posted the best Saturday Primetime viewership of any broadcast network in February in four years -- since the second Saturday of the 2010 Vancouver Games (26.6 million viewers on NBC, Feb. 20, 2010).

NBCSN began its first-ever Winter Olympics coverage with a record-breaking Saturday as an average of 2.6 million viewers tuned in. NBCSN's opening Saturday viewership for the Sochi Games (6 a.m.-2:30 p.m. ET) more than doubled the average viewership in the same time window on the opening Saturday of the 2012 London Olympics (1.0 million) and ranks as NBCSN's best daytime viewership ever.

NBCSN's 1-2 p.m. ET coverage of the new team figure skating competition averaged 4.9 million viewers - marking the network's most watched event ever, surpassing Team USA's women's soccer gold medal match in the 2012 London Games (4.4 million viewers).

· For the second consecutive night, NBC scored the most dominant Primetime Winter Olympics victory on record in Adults 18-49 with a 6.3 rating -- 350% above the combined ABC/CBS/FOX rating (based on People Meter, which dates to 1987).

· Compared to NBC's live (ET/CT) coverage of the opening Saturday of the 2010 Vancouver Games - which featured Apolo Anton Ohno winning a silver medal in the men's 1500 meter short track and Hannah Kearney winning gold in women's moguls - last night's telecast was essentially even in household rating (14.0/25) and off only four percent in viewership (26.2 million).

TOP 10 METERED MARKETS FOR NBC Primetime COVERAGE:
1. Minneapolis 22.4/41
2. Portland 20.7/34
3. Salt Lake City 20.6/39
4. Denver 20.3/37
5. Milwaukee 19.8/34
6. Ft. Myers 18.5/31
7. Boston 18.2/33
T8. Sacramento 17.6/30
T8. Kansas City 17.6/29
10. Austin 17.3/32

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