Salt Lake City is "averaging a 22.3 rating" so far for NBC Sports' primetime coverage of the Pyeongchang Games, keeping it as the top-rated U.S. market, according to Scott Pierce of the SALT LAKE TRIBUNE. The Salt Lake TV market has been at or "near the top in terms of viewership for both the Winter and the Summer Games" over the past couple of decades. There are a "number of theories about why," most centering on the fact that Salt Lake City hosted the '02 Games. While observers would think NBC would "have some sort of research" that could explain Salt Lake's continual strong showing, the net is "making the same guesses as the rest of us." NBC Broadcasting & Sports Chair Mark Lazarus suggested that perhaps the ratings "remain strong here because Salt Lake is back in the Olympic mix," as the city plans to bid for either the '26 or '30 Winter Games . Lazarus: "Given the discussions that are taking place in your city and the potential of bids in the future, I think there is maybe a little even heightened sense of Olympism than in past Games" ( SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 2/21 ).
A LITTLE SHY : In Chicago, Lewis Lazare noted Chicago "did not make it into the top 20 markets for highest average primetime Olympic ratings for the first half" of the Games, settling at No. 27 on the list with an average 13.5 rating. That average is "well below the ratings for the top three cities on the NBC list" -- Salt Lake City, Denver and Milwaukee. However, Chicago could "start to rise in the rankings in the second half" of the Games, as after Chicago native Bradie Tennell last night competed for the first time in the women's figure skating short competition ( BIZJOURNALS.com, 2/20 ).
