NBC Wins Primetime Week Of February 19-25 In All Key Measures

NBC has won the primetime ratings week of Feb. 19-25 among the Big 4 networks in every key ratings category, with coverage of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics accounting for the top 8 primetime broadcasts of the week in adults 18-49 and total viewers, according to "live plus same day" figures from Nielsen Media Research for the week of Feb. 19-25.

Monday through Sunday primetime coverage and a Saturday "Winter Olympic Gala" 10 p.m. telecast delivered the week's top eight rankings among primetime broadcasts in 18-49 and total viewers, and accounted for at least the top 5 in every other key Nielsen measure.

NBC's 18-night primetime average of 17.8 million viewers for the Olympics topped the combined 9.8 million of the competing Big 4 networks ABC, CBS and FOX by +82%, to rank as the most dominant Winter Games on record. The Total Audience Delivery of 19.8 million generated a +102% advantage over the combined Big 4 competition.

NBC has now ranked #1 among the broadcast networks on 74 consecutive Olympics nights in total viewers, exceeded the combined viewership of ABC, CBS and FOX on 35 straight Olympic nights and won 438 consecutive Olympic half hours in primetime.

In adults 18-49, NBC is dominating the current primetime season, with leads over #2 FOX of +0.9 of a rating point or +53% (2.6 vs. 1.7). The +53% advantage is the best for any #1 network at this point in the season in the 30-year history of Nielsen's current people-meter sample.

Season to date, NBC is also running #1 among ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX in every other key ratings measure, including total viewers, for the first time since 2001-02. Excluding all sports, NBC is running closer to CBS at this point in the season in total viewers than it's been in 15 years, since 2002-03 (currently within 1.3 million total viewers of CBS excluding sports, best since the gap was 727,000 in 2002-03).

Counting entertainment programming only, NBC leads the season in adults 18-49, and also ranks #1 among the Big 4 in adults 25-54, adults 18-34, men 18-49 (tie) and all key adult-female demos.

Weekly ratings are "live plus same day" figures from Nielsen Media Research unless otherwise noted. Season-to-date ratings are averages of "live plus seven day" data except for the two most recent weeks, which are "live plus same day."

Week 22 Averages

Adult 18-49 Rating, "live plus same day," Feb. 19-25

NBC...3.1

ABC...0.9

CBS...0.9

Fox...0.5

CW...0.2

Total Viewers

NBC...14.2 million

CBS...4.8 million

ABC...3.5 million

Fox...2.0 million

CW...0.8 million

Season-to-Date Averages

Adult 18-49 Rating, "Most Current"

NBC...2.6

Fox...1.7

CBS...1.6

ABC...1.4

CW...0.6

Total Viewers

NBC...10.3 million

CBS...9.1 million

ABC...5.8 million

Fox...5.6 million

CW...1.8 million

NBC highlights for the week of Feb. 19-25:

Monday

NBC's Feb. 19 primetime Olympics coverage topped the combined ABC-CBS-Fox competition by +44% in total viewers (16.4 million vs. a combined 11.4 million) and +52% in adult 18-49 rating (3.8 vs. 2.5). NBC/NBCSN averaged 18.5 million viewers, up +62% versus the combined Big 4 competition.

Tuesday

Led by Lindsey Vonn's bronze medal performance in her final Olympic downhill, Tuesday's NBC Olympics primetime coverage generated a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) average of 20.5 million viewers, an increase of +8% over the second Tuesday of the 2014 Sochi Olympics, according to "live plus same day" TV viewership figures from Nielsen, and digital data from Adobe Analytics. The Feb. 20 NBC/NBCSN average of 20.1 million viewers dominated the TV competition - an +88% advantage over the combined 10.7 million primetime viewers for ABC, CBS and Fox. The NBC-only 17.6 million viewers in the 8-11 p.m. ET primetime window topped by +64% the other broadcast networks, making this the most dominant second Tuesday of Winter Games coverage in people meter history (since September 1987). TAD viewership was up versus NBC-only broadcast viewership by +17% Tuesday night.

Wednesday

NBC's Wednesday primetime PyeongChang Olympic telecast was by far the most watched show of the night - marking the 70th consecutive night that an NBC Olympics presentation has topped primetime. This streak began with Day 14 of the 2010 Vancouver Games. The night's NBC / NBCSN average of 16.3 million viewers generated a +63% advantage over the combined 10.0 million primetime viewers for ABC, CBS and Fox. The NBC-only 14.1 million viewers in the 8-11 p.m. ET primetime window topped by 41% the other broadcast networks - marking the most dominant 2nd Wednesday of Winter Games coverage since the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics.

Thursday

NBC's Thursday primetime PyeongChang Olympic telecast was by far the most watched show of the night - marking the 32nd consecutive night that an NBC Olympics presentation has outperformed the combined primetime performance of the other broadcast networks. Thursday night's NBC/NBCSN average of 17.4 million viewers delivered a +67% advantage over the combined 10.4 million primetime viewers for ABC, CBS and Fox, while the NBC-only 15.2 million viewers in the 8:30-11 p.m. ET primetime window topped by +46% the other broadcast networks.

Friday

Friday's coverage won the night in every key measure and beat the combined total-viewer competition on the Big 4 networks by a +43% margin (12.9 million for NBC vs. 9.1 for ABC, CBS and FOX combined).

Saturday

NBC's Feb. 24 primetime Olympics coverage averaged a 2.2 in 18-49 and 11.3 million viewers overall, to beat the combined ABC-CBS-Fox competition by +28% in total viewers (11.3 million vs. a combined 8.8 million).

Sunday

Led by coverage of the Closing Ceremony from PyeongChang (3.0/11 in 18-49, 14.8 million viewers overall), NBC won Sunday night among the broadcast networks in every key measure and beat the combined Big 4 competition in total viewers.

NBC's Sunday telecast of "A.P. Bio" (1.4/6 in 18-49, 5.9 million viewers overallairing concurrently coast to coast from 10:31-11 p.m. ET / 7:31-8 p.m. PT, with encores in the Western U.S.) generated solid sampling for the first-year series,growing +2.8 million viewers or +89% versus the show's preview on Thursday, Feb. 1 in total viewers (5.888 million vs. 3.117 million at 9:31 p.m.) and +75% in adult 18-49 rating in 18-49 (1.4 vs. 0.8). The special Sunday "A.P. Bio" also increased by +40% versus NBC's Sunday 10:30-11 p.m. average for last season excluding sports in 18-49 (1.4 vs. 1.0) and by +1.3 million persons or +29% in total viewers (5.888 million vs. 4.547 million). L+3: The Feb. 1 telecast of "A.P. Bio" increased by +63% in 18-49 going from L+SD to L+7 (0.8 to 1.3) and +1.2 million viewers overall (3.1 million to 4.3 million). With the addition of 23 days of viewership on alternate platforms, the pilot episode has grown to a 2.17 rating in 18-49. Upscale: "A.P. Bio" is attracting a substantial upscale audience, with the Feb. 1 preview indexing at a 142 among adults 18-49 living in homes with $100K+ incomes ("most current"). Among adults 18-49 with four or more years of college, the preview indexed at a 159, to top all season averages for primetime series on the Big 4 networks.

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