Bonus night of Olympics coverage on NBC posts best Thursday primetime rating and viewership on any network since September

Average of 20 million viewers for last night's pre-opening ceremony coverage

Last night's bonus Sochi Winter Olympics coverage on NBC posted the highest average rating and viewership for Thursday primetime on any network in more than five months, according to live plus same day fast national data released today by The Nielsen Company.

NBC's telecast (8:30-11 p.m.) earned an 11.3/18 household rating/share and averaged 20.0 million viewers, marking the best primetime rating and viewership on any network on a Thursday since NBC's "NFL Kickoff" game telecast on Sept. 5, 2013, which featured the Super Bowl-champion Baltimore Ravens visiting quarterback Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos.

Last night's Olympic broadcast was the first ever for the network on the night before the opening ceremony, and included the debut of the team figure skating and snowboarding slopestyle events, as well as the women's moguls competition.

In addition to ranking No. 1 in rating and viewership, the Thursday night Olympics broadcast on NBC earned a 6.0 primetime rating in the Adult 18-49 demographic - topping the combined total of ABC, CBS and FOX for the night.