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    Record low ratings for Winter Olympics; Nielsen week in review

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments1031 Views
    Fireworks explode during the closing ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics, Sunday, Feb. 20, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

    By David Bauder, Media Writer

    NEW YORK (AP) --

    The final scores are in, and NBC is no doubt happy to put the Beijing Winter Olympics in the rear-view mirror.

    The games reached an average combined audience of 11.4 million people in primetime on NBC, the USA cable network and Peacock streaming service, the network said. That's the lowest-ever American audience for any Olympics, and down 42% from the Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, in 2018.

    For NBC alone, the primetime telecasts reached an average of 9.3 million viewers, or 48% down from South Korea, the Nielsen company said.

    The games never really captured the public imagination, and were hurt by COVID-19 restrictions that had most of NBC's announcers working half a world away in Connecticut.

    In a diminished world for broadcast television, however, NBC beat every other network in primetime during the Games' duration. Only pro football can say the same this season. The Peacock streaming service, which will undoubtedly play a bigger role in future Olympics, had its best stretch of usage since the service began, NBC said.

    Mark Lazarus, chairman of NBC Universal television and streaming, said Peacock "delivered a user experience that was greatly enhanced from just six months ago" during the COVID-delayed Tokyo Summer Olympics.

    For the week, NBC averaged 7.2 million viewers in primetime. CBS had 3 million, ABC had 2.7 million, Fox had 2 million, Univision had 1.5 million, Ion Television had 1.3 million and Telemundo had 1 million.

    Fox News Channel was the most popular cable network in primetime, averaging 2.42 million viewers. TNT had 2.01 million, MSNBC had 1.05 million, HGTV had 1.02 million and Hallmark had 968,000.

    ABC's "World News Tonight" won the evening news ratings race with an average of 8.7 million viewers. NBC's "Nightly News," with virtually none of the typical ratings bump that an Olympics delivers, had 7 million viewers and the "CBS Evening News" had 5.3 million.

    For the week of Feb., 14-20, the top 20 primetime programs, their networks and viewerships:

    1. Winter Olympics (Tuesday), NBC, 8.71 million.
    2. Winter Olympics (Thursday, 8:30 to 11 p.m.), NBC, 8.53 million.
    3. Winter Olympics (Monday), NBC, 7.89 million.
    4. Winter Olympics (Friday, 9 to 11 p.m.), NBC, 7.25 million.
    5. "60 Minutes," CBS, 6.98 million.
    6. Winter Olympics (Wednesday, 8:30 to 11 p.m.), NBC, 6.94 million.
    7. Winter Olympics (Saturday, 9 to 11 p.m.), NBC, 6.77 million.
    8. Winter Olympics (Thursday, 8 to 8:30 p.m.), NBC, 6.74 million.
    9. Winter Olympics (Friday, 8 to 9 p.m.), NBC, 6.72 million.
    10. Winter Olympics Closing Ceremonies, NBC, 6.57 million.
    11. Winter Olympics (Wednesday, 8 to 8:30 p.m.), NBC, 6.42 million.
    12. Winter Olympics (Saturday, 8 to 9 p.m.), NBC, 5.86 million.
    13. NBA All-Star Game, TNT, 5.43 million
    14. "Daytona 500 Post Race," Fox, 5.42 million.
    15. "911: Lone Star," Fox, 4.95 million.
    16. "Jeopardy! College Championship" (Thursday), ABC, 4.82 million.
    17. "Jeopardy! College Championship" (Friday), ABC, 4.73 million.
    18. "The Price is Right Valentine Show," CBS, 4.66 million.
    19. "Jeopardy! College Championship" (Wednesday), ABC, 4.64 million.
    20. "Young Sheldon," CBS, 4.35 million.

    Tags:NBCNielsenWinter Olympics



    Christmas TV movies are in their Taylor Swift era, with 2 Swift-inspired films airing this season

    Friday, November 22, 2024
    This image released by Hallmark Media shows Hunter King, left, and Tyler Hynes in a scene from "Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story. (Joshua Haines/Hallmark Media via AP)

    Two new Christmas TV movies have a Taylor Swift connection that her fans would have no problem decoding.

    "Christmas in the Spotlight" debuts Saturday on Lifetime. It stars Jessica Lord as the world's biggest pop star and Laith Wallschleger as a pro football player, who meet and fall in love — not unlike Swift and her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.

    "It's clearly inspired by Taylor and Travis, but I don't know them and I don't know what is going on behind the scenes. I only know what's been put out there," said Eirene Tran Donohue, a longtime, devoted fan who jumped at the opportunity to write a script even loosely based on her favorite musician.

    She was inspired by the couple's support of each other's accomplishments, particularly Kelce's ease with dating the star despite the glare of the spotlight, adding, "I love the way that he celebrates her."

    Tran Donohue wants fellow Swift fans to know she wrote the script with them in mind.

    "There are so many Easter eggs," she said of little details added that a Swift fan would pick up on. "I put in as many as I could."

    Then, on Nov. 30, Hallmark will air "Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story." Instead of a nod to Swift, it's an ode to family traditions and bonding, like rooting for a sports team. Hallmark's headquarters is also in Kansas City, so it makes sense why the company chose the Chiefs to be highlighted.

    In this story, written by Julie Sherman Wolfe, sparks fly when a new employee for the Chiefs organization (Tyler Hynes) meets a woman — played by Hunter King — whose family's dedication to the team goes back generations.

    Sherman Wolfe, a San Francisco 49ers fan, said she got the call a week after Super Bowl LVIII, when the Chiefs... Read More

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