181 MILLION VIEWERS WATCH THE TORINO WINTER OLYMPICS ON THE NETWORKS OF NBC UNIVERSAL

181 MILLION VIEWERS WATCH THE TORINO WINTER OLYMPICS ON THE NETWORKS OF NBC UNIVERSAL

NBC Wins 3rd Consecutive Saturday, on Pace to Win 3rd Consecutive Week in Primetime

TORINO, Italy - Feb. 26, 2006 - Through Saturday, 181 million total, unduplicated viewers have watched the Torino Winter Olympics on the networks of NBC Universal, according to fast national data from Nielsen Media Research, only two percent behind Salt Lake through the final Saturday of the Games (184 million). 36.5 million total, unduplicated viewers watched Saturday's primetime coverage on NBC, featuring U.S. shorttrack speedskater Apolo Anton Ohno taking the gold medal in the men's 500m.

- NBC CONTINUES PRIMETIME DOMINANCE: NBC's Saturday night coverage of the Torino Games attracted 36.5 million total, unduplicated viewers. The Olympics on NBC Saturday drew a 9.7 household rating and 17 share for the program (8:30-11:17 p.m. ET/PT). NBC's Olympics coverage dominated the competition, with a 9.6 HH rating in primetime (8:30-11 p.m. ET/PT), and averaged 16.3 million viewers in primetime, more than double ABC (6M), Fox (7M) or CBS (7.2M).

- NBC ON PACE TO WIN 3RD STRAIGHT WEEK IN PRIMETIME: Through 16 days, NBC's Torino Winter Olympics coverage is averaging 20.5 million viewers in primetime, more than double CBS's delivery (9.6M), up 90 percent over ABC (10.8M) and 77 percent above Fox (11.6M), and is on pace to win its third consecutive week in primetime in household ratings and viewer delivery.

- NBCU CABLE: The Olympics on the cable networks of NBC Universal have reached 61.1 total, unduplicated viewers, up 18 percent from Feb. 2005 (51.6 million) and up 34 percent from the same point during the Salt Lake Games (45.6 million). NBCU's Olympics coverage on cable is attracting an audience more than five years younger than the median age from pre-Olympic first quarter. CNBC's Olympics coverage, featuring curling, the Winter Games' cult hit, has averaged 669,000 total viewers (0.46 HH rating), up 562 percent from pre-Olympic first quarter delivery (101,000).

- OLYMPIC ZONE DOUBLE DIGIT GROWTH: "Olympic Zone," a partnership between NBC Olympics and NBC affiliated stations, posted double-digit growth in many markets for the Olympic "pre-game" show. In Portland, ratings rose 103 percent over the same time period in Feb. 2005, and 93 percent compared to the same time period in Jan. 2006. In Seattle, ratings rose 63 percent compared to Feb. 2005, and in Los Angeles, ratings rose 52 percent in the time period.

- NBCOLYMPICS.COM CONTINUES RECORD GROWTH: Through Saturday, NBCOlympics.com has had 350 million page views, more than doubling the entire number through the Salt Lake Winter Games. The web site has served 8.7 million video streams, totaling 122,000 hours of video.

THE OLYMPICS IN PRIMETIME ON NBC

Saturday Torino to Date through Sat., Feb. 25
HH Rating 9.7/17 12.3/20
A18-49 5.1 6.3
Average Viewers 16.5 million 20.6 million
Total Unduplicated 36.5 million 181 million

The networks of NBC Universal, NBC, USA, MSNBC, CNBC, NBC HD and Universal HD are providing more than 418 total hours of coverage - including the most live coverage - across the most platforms of any Winter Olympics in history of the XX Olympic Winter Games from Torino, Italy, Feb. 10-26.