Look, I'm loving the Vancouver Olympics and learning more about Shaun White than any human should need to know. (How does that guy pass the drug tests?) It's relaxing and exciting and the Americans are not doing nearly as lousy as they usually do on ice and in the snow. As of yet, other than the tragic death of the Georgian luge sledder, there are no more controversies which call into question the whole integrity of the Olympics, world peace, and figure skating fashions for men. (Sorry, but having loser Evgeni Plushenko diss winner Evan Lysacek isn't news unless they plan to cage fight.) So half of all Americans, 152 million, watched the first 7 days of the Vancouver Olympics, according to Neilsen. That's now 26.6 million average audiences, nearly 6 million more and 27% higher than in 2006. NBCU’s Thursday broadcasts were seen by 77 million total viewers even with original programming from Survivor on CBS and Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice on ABC.

In head to head competition during the 9 PM hour, NBC's Vancouver Olympics attracted 30.1 million viewers compared to Fox's American Idol audience of 18.4 Million. In fact, the usually last place place network crowed that 29.4 million people watched NBC last night, which was nearly 12 million more than the first Wednesday of 2006 Winter Games. NBC's broadcasts broke American Idol’s six-year unbeaten streak. The Olympics also out-rated Idol by 63% (17.0 vs. 10.4) among households and 30% among adults 18-49 (9.0 vs. 6.9) based on data provided today by Nielsen Media Research. Of course, helping the ratings was the greatest single day in Winter Olympics history as Team USA captured 6 medals.

This is news only because it's so rare. Make that more like 2010's version of Miracle On Ice. The Vancouver Olympics have made NBC #1 for the week of February 8th to 14th. During normal primetime programming, Fox, CBS, and even ABC would be kicking the perennial last place network's ass. But obviously Americans are so bored or ill (I've been sick and watching hours of curling...) or else the Canadian screw-ups are so entertaining (unwittingly reinforcing every McKenzie Brothers stereotype) that we can't get enough of the Winter Games. (Wasn't Johnny Weir's costume last night a hoot and a half? I love how he shatters the skating federation's uptight image that male figure skaters must be hetero.) Anyway, NBC won the week in adults 18-to-49 as well as total viewers and all other key measures. The Titanic of networks hasn't done that since its last big event program: when NBC aired the Super Bowl the week of January 26-February 1, 2009. You should read NBC's hysterically hyped up press releases. So pathetic. UPDATE: NBC now claims 138 million watched the opening 5 days of its Winter Olympics coverage, an average 26.4 million, 5 million more and 22% higher than 2006.

Does it seem to you like there are less commercial breaks and attention deficit disorder-style editing during this Olympics coverage, especially during primetime? Thank god. Maybe that's why the ratings are so good. But why can't I find 24/7 Olympics coverage on all NBCU stations, broadcast and cable? Because execs like Jeff Zucker, Dick Ebersol, are pinheads. And that's why NBCU will still be in the ratings crapper for 50 primetime weeks out of the year once the Olympics are over. Of course, GE chairman/CEO Jeff Immelt has already warned that NBCU is likely to lose “a couple hundred million bucks" on these Winter Games, thanks to overbidding by Ebersol, NBCU Sports and Olympics czar. (This is the same asshole who criticized Conan O'Brien as an "astounding failure".)

It turns out 97 million watched NBCU's Vancouver Winter Games during the first 2 days of coverage, or 9M more than watched the Torino Games and the most since the tabloid-fueled 1994 Lillehammer Games (because of the Nancy Kerrigan/Tonya Harding scandal). So says today's Nielsen Media Research. This comes after NBC's coverage of the Opening Ceremony was the most watched ever for a non-U.S. Winter Olympics in 16 years with 67.5 million total viewers. The 32.6 million average viewers is the most for a non-U.S. Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony in 16 years - just below the 33.8 million for the tabloid-fueled Lillehammer Games in 1994. The 17.3/30 national household rating is also ... Read More »

11:45 AM UPDATE: CBS just announced its Super Bowl XLIV coverage was the most-watched program in TV history. (Assuming this is U.S. history, since the World Cup for soccer is seen by more people around the world.) An average of 106.5 million viewers watched New Orleans beat the Indianapolis Colts. The game even topped the 1983 M*A*S*H* finale seen by 106 million. The network's fast national household rating/share was 45.0/68, the highest in 14 years. Last night's Super Bowl rating/share peaked at a 48.5/70 from 9:00PM-9:30PM ET with an average of 114.1 million viewers. Which just goes to show that, even though everyone says there's no such thing as double-digit ratings in entertainment TV anymore, some event programming transcend normal viewing habits and bring eyeballs nationwide back to the networks.

Because of the game, the CBS premiere of its heavily hyped new reality show Undercover Boss benefited greatly, averaging a 19.0/32 with an average of 38.61 million viewers -- 16.6 million in adults 25-54, 16.2 million in adults 18-49, and 15.1 million in adults 18-34. CBS said it was the largest audience ever for a new series following the Super Bowl since the advent of people meters in 1987. Also, the largest audience ever to watch the premiere episode of a reality series. And the most watched new series premiere overall on television since "The Dolly Show" on September 27, 1987 (seen by 39.47 million). The 3rd largest post-Super Bowl audience behind the "Friends Special" on January 28, 1996 and CBS's Survivor: ... Read More »