Sports

NBC’s Olympics Ratings Hit New Low As U.S. Olympians Struggle To Reach Gold

Katie Jerkovich Entertainment Reporter
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The NBC ratings for the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang struggled again Thursday night as U.S. Olympians failed to reach the gold, according to Deadline Friday.

On a night that saw Olympic gold medalist slalom skier Mikaela Shriffin failed to medal and U.S. figure skater Nathan Chen fall to 17th place, the first Thursday coverage of the winter games on NBC and NBCSN scored a combined overnight rating of 13.0/22 in metered market households.

GANGNEUNG, SOUTH KOREA - FEBRUARY 16: Nathan Chen of the United States competes during the Men's Single Skating Short Program at Gangneung Ice Arena on February 16, 2018 in Gangneung, South Korea. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

GANGNEUNG, SOUTH KOREA – FEBRUARY 16: Nathan Chen of the United States competes during the Men’s Single Skating Short Program at Gangneung Ice Arena on February 16, 2018 in Gangneung, South Korea. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

That coverage dropped to a new low for this year’s games and fell by 10 percent from the games in 2014 in Sochi, Russia, which in the end scored 22 million viewers.

Last night’s broadcast on NBC, compared to Russia fell by 22 percent and by 32 percent from the games eight years ago in Vancouver, Canada.

Overall, the ratings for the 2014 Olympics were the lowest the broadcast had ever had, averaging a 5.5 among adults ages 18-49 and 21.39 million viewers.