NBC snowed the competition all weekend with its coverage of the Winter Olympics, averaging 22.4 million viewers on Sunday, 25.4 million on Saturday, and 23.2 million on Friday, according to early Nielsen estimates. For the first nine days of the Vancouver games, viewership is averaging 26.3 million viewers per day, up by 6 million over the Torino games in 2006.
Here, a look at the rest of Sunday night’s lineup:
| Time | Show | Viewers (in millions) |
|---|---|---|
| 7 p.m. | 2010 Winter Olympics (NBC) 60 Minutes (CBS) America’s Funniest Home Videos (ABC) ‘Til Death (Fox) |
22.4 11.3 7.6 4.2 |
| 7:30 p.m. | ‘Til Death (Fox) | 2.9 |
| 8 p.m. | The Amazing Race (CBS) Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (ABC) The Simpsons (Fox) |
11.3 8.0 6.1 |
| 8:30 p.m. | The Cleveland Show (Fox) | 5.6 |
| 9 p.m. | Undercover Boss (CBS) Desperate Housewives (ABC) Family Guy (Fox) |
13.6 10.9 6.3 |
| 9:30 p.m. | American Dad (Fox) | 5.6 |
| 10 p.m. | Cold Case (CBS) Brothers & Sisters (ABC) |
8.8 7.9 |
Source: Nielsen
NBC made the biggest mistake airing ice dancing over hockey. It ended up being one of the best games too. I’ve officially given up trying to watch Olympics on tv. If I want to watch an event live I’ll go on one of the streaming sites that haven’t been shut down by NBC like I did last night for the USA vs. Canada game.
Can anyone explain what NBC’s braintrust was thinking when they relegated the USA vs. Canada hockey game to MSNBC – in standard def, no less – while choosing to air curling in High Def? I get that skating and skiing are high-draw events, but come on. You can’t tell me that the US/Canada hockey game wasn’t a headline event. We’re still fuming. I feel sorry for viewers out there who got stuck watching it on computers because they didn’t have MSNBC. NBC gets an epic Fail on that one.
Gugga gugga gugga
They would have scored even higher ratings if they hadn’t “banished” the USA-Canada hockey game to MSNBC. There are more exciting things to watch in the Olympics than gay men dancing
Why aren’t you reporting the ratings for the CW??! I need to know how Smallville is doing.