OLYMPICS BEATS IDOL

Head to Head: Olympics 30.1 Million, Idol 18.4 Million

29.4 Million Watched NBC Last Night, Nearly 12 Million More Than First Wednesday of 2006 Winter Games

VANCOUVER - February 18, 2010 - The Olympics on NBC last night broke American Idol's six-year unbeaten streak (since 2004). When going head-to-head against Idol (9-10 p.m.), the Olympics drew nearly 12 million more viewers (30.1 million vs. 18.4 million) for an advantage of 64 percent. Head-to-head (9-10 p.m.), the Olympics out-rated Idol by 63 percent (17.0 vs. 10.4) among households and 30 percent among Adults 18-49 (9.0 vs. 6.9) based on data provided today by Nielsen Media Research.

On the night (8-11:17 p.m.), NBC's Olympic broadcast - featuring the greatest single day in Winter Olympics history as Team USA captured six medals - drew an average audience of 29.4 million, more than 11 million more than the first Wednesday of the 2006 Winter Games (17.9 million), and a household rating of 16.7/27, up 48 percent from the comparable day at the 2006 Winter Games (11.3/18).

Some Additional Highlights:

� First time that Idol was defeated in P2+ (average viewership) and Adults18-49 since May 17, 2004.

� First time Idol has been defeated among households since April 15, 2004.

� On the comparable Wednesday night at the 2006 Winter Games when going head-to-head (8-9 p.m.) Idol more than doubled the average audience of the Olympics (28.9 million to 14.3 million), out-rated the Olympics by 7.4 rating points (16.5 vs. 9.1 among households) and nearly tripled the Olympic delivery in the Adults 18-49 demo (12.0 vs. 4.1).

� Last night, the Olympics out-rated American Idol in 53 of 55 metered markets. By comparison, on the first Wednesday of the 2006 Winter Games, when going head-to-head, the Olympics only out-rated Idol in five of 55 markets.

METERED MARKET RATINGS BY TIME ZONE (Six-Day Average):
Mountain Time Zone 20.0/33
Pacific Time Zone 16.9/30
Central Time Zone 16.7/26
Eastern Time Zone 16.1/25

TOP 25 METERED MARKETS (Six-Day Average):
1. Milwaukee, 23.7/37
2. Denver, 23.2/38
3. Salt Lake City, 22.6/38
4. Seattle, 21.9/40
5. Minneapolis, 21.4/36
6. St. Louis, 20.1/31
7. Columbus, 20.0/31
8. San Diego, 19.5/33
9. Portland, 19.3/35
10. Cleveland, 19.2/30
11. West Palm Beach, 19.2/28
12. Nashville, 18.9/27
13. Boston, 18.4/32
14. Kansas City, 18.2/27
15. Sacramento, 17.9/32
T16. Washington D.C., 17.8/29
T16. Austin, 17.8/29
T18. Phoenix, 17.7/29
T18. Providence, 17.7/29
20. Ft. Myers, 17.6/28
21. Tulsa, 17.3/26
22. Cincinnati, 17.2/26
23. Indianapolis, 17.1/27
T24. Detroit, 17.0/28
T24. Chicago, 17.0/27

TOP 25 METERED MARKETS FOR WEDNESDAY, FEB. 17:
1. Denver, 29.3/45
T2. Minneapolis, 27.1/44
T2. Milwaukee, 27.1/41
4. Salt Lake City, 27.0/42
5. Seattle, 26.7/46
6. San Diego, 24.7/39
7. Portland, 22.3/39
8. Washington, D.C., 22.1/34
T9. Boston, 21.9/36
T9. St. Louis, 21.9/32
T9. West Palm Beach, 21.9/30
12. Cleveland, 21.8/33
13. Columbus, 21.4/32
14. Ft. Myers, 21.0/31
T15. Detroit, 20.6/32
T15. Kansas City, 20.6/29
T15. Austin, 20.6/32
18. Nashville, 20.4/29
19. Chicago, 20.2/31
20. Cincinnati, 20.2/29
21. Providence, 20.1/33
22. Sacramento, 20.0/34
23. Phoenix, 19.7/31
24. Jacksonville, 19.6/29
25. Richmond, 19.1/29

NBC Universal, broadcasting its record 12th Olympics the most Olympics broadcast by any network, will present more than 835 hours of Vancouver Olympic Winter Games coverage - representing the most total hours ever for a Winter Olympics, more than the last two Winter Olympics combined, and the most live hours ever for a Winter Games. The Vancouver Games are the first Winter Olympics to be presented entirely in high definition.