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Colorado Media Newsroom
February 12th, 2014, 03:01 PM
From The Denver Post:

http://blogs.denverpost.com/ostrow/files/2014/02/sochi2014_render1.pngNBC Sochi 2014

More than 100 million Americans have watched at least some of the Sochi Winter Games on the networks of NBCUniversal, according to Nielsen. NBC executives said Wednesday the ratings for the 2014 Sochi Olympics — the most viewed Winter Olympics ever — have been “beyond expectations,” adding that the bigger story is success beyond primetime. In a conference call from Sochi, NBC Sports Group Chairman Mark Lazarus noted viewing habits are changing: “The Olympics have always been a glimpse into the future,” in terms of media behavior and the way companies release material. What they’re finding is a “circle model,” in which digital consumption drives people back to TV which drives them to digital.
For instance, a huge percentage of people who watch live events on NBC Sports Network watch again on NBC in primetime to see the curated, packaged stories. They hope the circle is unbroken. The many networks of NBC Universal would like to keep you in that loop.
Other NBC Olympics highlights:
* Bob Costas is “very frustrated” at being sidelined by an eye infection. Matt Lauer will be in for Costas again tonight and NBC will take it day by day after that.
* Neither the absence of Lindsey Vonn nor the dashed hopes of Shaun White damped NBC’s Olympics ratings gold. Daytime and late-night viewing is up, not just primetime. Meanwhile primetime is growing, too. “A rising tide lifts all boats,” said NBC ratings and research chief Alan Wurtzel.
* Denver is the No. 3 market for the Olympics overall, with a 19.6 rating, 33 share for primetime, Tuesday-Thursday. (Denver ranks behind Minneapolis-St. Paul and Salt Lake City).
* There are 1,500 hours’ worth of 2014 Olympics content available. “It’s a lot of content. That’s several months worth of programming in two weeks.” Is it overwhelming to the audience? Maybe but half for most that’s a good problem to have.
* The ratings are outpacing Vancouver, which was mostly live, and far ahead of Torino, which was six years ago, before the fragmented media landscape.
* Finally, NBC said consumers are having a “50 percent success rate” at authenticating their cable/satellite subscriptions and getting access to live streaming. They expressed that as a positive. But that means half the audience is failing. (Refresher: go to NBCOlympics.com/LiveExtra on computer, phone, tablet. You’ll be prompted to download the NBC Sports Live app and must sign in with the user name and password issued by your TV provider.)


More... (http://blogs.denverpost.com/ostrow/2014/02/12/nbc-olympics-cross-platform-glimpse-media-future/17900/)