Winter Olympics ratings slip

NBC’s coverage of the Olympics in Sochi is slipping in the ratings.

Sunday’s prime-time coverage delivered 21.1 million viewers and a 4.8 rating in the demo, down 9 percent in viewers and 19 percent in the demo from 2010 in Vancouver. That’s the lowest demo rating for this point in the Games in Winter Olympics history, though dodges being a low in total viewers.

Looking at NBC’s running average through Sunday, Sochi is lower than Vancouver Games by 12 percent in viewers and 15 percent in the demo. Coming in below Vancouver has been the trend so far, and is understandable given that the 2010 coverage was mostly live in U.S. prime-time. Yet now Sochi has edged below the last heavily tape-delayed Winter Olympics, Torino in 2006, down 3 percent the demo, with this year still retaining an edge in viewers.

The dip comes as the U.S. medal count ranks 7th among nations competing in the Games. Sunday saw the U.S. ski team increase their tally from one to three medals, thanks to Andrew Weibrecht and Bode Miller in the super-G, while during the always exciting snowboard cross competition, frontrunner Lindsey Jacobellis wiped out during her semifinal run.