Head to Head: Olympics 30.1 Million, Idol 18.4 Million
29.4 Million Watched NBC Last Night, Nearly 12 Million More Than First Wednesday of 2006 Winter Games
The Olympics on NBC last night broke American Idol’s six-year unbeaten streak (since 2004). When going head-to-head against Idol (9-10 p.m.), the Olympics drew nearly 12 million more viewers (30.1 million vs. 18.4 million) for an advantage of 64 percent. Head-to-head (9-10 p.m.), the Olympics out-rated Idol by 63 percent (17.0 vs. 10.4) among households and 30 percent among Adults 18-49 (9.0 vs. 6.9) based on data provided today by Nielsen Media Research.
On the night (8-11:17 p.m.), NBC’s Olympic broadcast – featuring the greatest single day in Winter Olympics history as Team USA captured six medals – drew an average audience of 29.4 million, more than 11 million more than the first Wednesday of the 2006 Winter Games (17.9 million), and a household rating of 16.7/27, up 48 percent from the comparable day at the 2006 Winter Games (11.3/18).
Some Additional Highlights:
· First time that Idol was defeated in P2+ (average viewership) and Adults18-49 since May 17, 2004.
· First time Idol has been defeated among households since April 15, 2004.
· On the comparable Wednesday night at the 2006 Winter Games when going head-to-head (8-9 p.m.) Idol more than doubled the average audience of the Olympics (28.9 million to 14.3 million), out-rated the Olympics by 7.4 rating points (16.5 vs. 9.1 among households) and nearly tripled the Olympic delivery in the Adults 18-49 demo (12.0 vs. 4.1).
See NBC’s Olympics out-rated ‘American Idol’ in metered markets
(source: information provided by NBC)
