Sochi Ratings Down in U.S. Compared to Last Winter Games

It's a drop from the last Winter Olympics in Vancouver, but an increase from the last time the Games were in Europe

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About 21.4 million Americans on average tuned in to watch coverage of the Winter Olympics in Sochi during prime time, NBCUniversal said Monday, a drop from the last Winter Games but an increase from the last time the Games were played overseas.

Ratings were down 12 percent from the Winter Olympics in Vancouver four years ago, when American viewership was aided by the Games being in a similar time zone. But the ratings were also up six percent from the 20.2 million average of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy.

The NBC numbers are projections ahead of more detailed figures being released by NBC and Nielsen on Tuesday.

An average of 15.1 viewers watched the closing ceremony on Sunday, down 29 percent from the Vancouver closing ceremony that followed a gold-medal hockey game between the U.S. and Canada, but up two percent from the Turin games.