VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA: NBC’s Friday night coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony averaged 32.6 million viewers, the largest audience yet for the wintertime event when it’s been held outside of the United States. The average, from 7 to 11 p.m., was up 47 percent over the audience of 22.2 million for the opening at Turin in 2006.
The ceremony delivered a 9.4 rating among adults 18-to-49 for NBC. The Turin opener delivered a 6.5 in the same demo.
Media Life said that approximately 67.5 million viewers watched at least six minutes of the opening ceremony, making it the most-watched ever with the exception of Salt Lake’s games in 2002.
NBC’s Olympics coverage on Saturday night continued to be strong, delivering 26.2 million viewers, up 13 percent compared to Turin. The two-night average of 30 million comprises a 33 percent increase over the Turin numbers, though it remains behind the comparable number for the 1994 Lillehammer games, which averaged 39.9 million viewers over two nights.
