NBC Primetime Olympic Average Getting Closer To Turin ‘06

Following Monday night’s Winter Olympic coverage, NBC Sports is averaging 21.1 million viewers across broadcast, cable and digital in primetime, down 8% from four years ago and only 2.5% ahead of the average from Turin in ’06. The NBC-only average in primetime to date accounts for 18.9 million of that viewership average, or 90% of the nightly audience. Only one night to date during Pyeongchang -- this past Friday -- has NBC topped the audience from the same night in Sochi. Monday night was no exception, as NBC (18.6 million viewers), even with total audience delivery, was well below 20 million viewers. The same night from the previous three Winter Games had not dipped below that 20 million figure (NBC-only figures). The NBC-only figure from Monday night was 16.3 million viewers. But while NBC's primetime average most nights has been down from Sochi four years ago, the net's Olympic average continues to dominate all other primetime programming across TV. NBC Digital’s average minute audience on Monday night also dipped below 200,000 viewers for the third straight night. NBC and NBCSN on Monday peaked at 19.3 million viewers from 9:00-9:15pm ET, as NBC aired freestyle skiing and NBCSN aired ice dancing. Salt Lake City again was the top market  on Monday with a 21.4 local rating, Meanwhile, NBCSN late on Monday (10:10pm start) averaged 1.6 million viewers for the U.S. win over Slovakia in men’s hockey, marking the cable net’s second-best late night hockey audience yet, behind only Blackhawks-Wild Western Conference Semifinals Game 1 from ’14, which averaged 1.95 million viewers on a Friday night ( Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor ).

GOING ALL OUT : U.S. skier Lindsey Vonn won the Bronze Medal in the women's downhill, and the AP's David Bauder writes NBC's focus on Vonn during last night's primetime broadcast "bordered on the excessive." There was the "pre-race catalogue of her injuries, the l-o-n-g lingering camera shot as she waited for the starting gate to open and the two separate post-race interviews by Heather Cox." In the second interview, Cox followed NBC's "cringeworthy, get 'em to cry playbook by asking about a dead relative." That mentality in this instance "paid off because Cox stuck with her and, her emotions unleashed, Vonn talked movingly about her career and likely last hurrah at the Olympics." Meanwhile, NBC's Bode Miller has "had a rough Olympics, but he's capable of insights you can only get from a recent, serious competitor." Miller was able to spot a "rough patch" in the downhill that "caused one competitor to wipe out and spoke of the impact of different consistencies of snow." He also "took the bold stance of suggesting the key factor" in Italian Gold Medal-winner Sofia Goggia's victory "was her chosen starting time, fifth among all the skiers" ( AP, 2/21 ). In Chicago, Phil Rosenthal writes no one wants Miller to "dumb down the substance of what he’s saying, but he needs to work harder to translate it for non-experts and even non-skiers in the audience." It also "would be helpful if he seemed a little more enthusiastic as events warranted" ( CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 2/21 ).

MISSED OPPORTUNITY : USA TODAY's A.J. Perez notes NBC's coverage of the women’s figure skating short program concluded "about the time" the U.S. men’s hockey team forced OT in its quarterfinal match against the Czech Republic on CNBC. However, viewers on NBC "got interviews and analysis in the wake of another lackluster showing by U.S. figure skaters" rather than a look-in on the hockey game, which Team USA eventually lost to end its run in the Games . NBC Broadcasting & Sports Chair Mark Lazarus earlier this week said the net's hockey ratings for the Olympics were down in the high 20%-low 30% range compared to the '14 Sochi Games. Perez: "Maybe putting at least part of the game on broadcast would help things?" ( USATODAY.com, 2/21 ).

WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN : In Philadelphia, Patricia Madej noted U.S. figure skater Adam Rippon on Monday night "offered a glimpse of what could have been" had he joined NBC's broadcast booth . Rippon "gave watchers a special treat Monday," joining Leslie Jones from "SNL" in a "well-received analysis of a short dance routine from Canada’s Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir." Rippon and Jones "sat alongside gold medalist Scott Hamilton to talk everything from how 'fine' sportscaster Terry Gannon is to how much Virtue makes them both feel like 'a woman'” ( PHILLY.com, 2/20 ).

WORDS WITH FRIENDS : The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Andrew Beaton reviewed a broadcast of NBC's Johnny Weir and broke down the words that make him a "uniquely ebullient broadcaster." One thing is "clear: Weir absolutely loves the word absolutely." Weir has "other favorites too." He calls "plenty of performances 'stellar.'” He also likes “brilliant” and “stunning” ( WALL STREET JOURNAL, 2/21 ). The CHICAGO TRIBUNE's Rosenthal writes it is not necessary for Weir and co-analyst Tara Lipinski to talk "so much during a performance." Sometimes it is "OK to let viewers take it in while it’s happening." Anticipating and/or "pointing out something that’s notable, impressive or disastrous as it occurs is fine." Lipinski and Weir sometimes "announce their presence as much as the event they’re ostensibly covering." Meanwhile, Hamilton is "too good a figure skating analyst not to have more of a presence" ( CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 2/21 ).