Nielsen: Winter Olympics draws older women

The Winter Olympics may be attracting mega-ratings, but not all of its fans are among the demos advertisers prize most.

The Vancouver Games are skewing disproportionately toward older viewers, according to a study by Nielsen. Viewership among fans 55 and older are 82% higher than the national average.

Though a sporting event, the Olympics also draws more women than men -- 56% of Winter Games viewers are female.   

That's typical of Olympic telecasts and NBC helps court female viewers by emphasizing skating events in primetime. And unlike primetime entertainment programs, the Olympics are sold to advertisers based on how many households tune in, not specific demos.

Other findings: Winter Games ratings among minorities are considerably lower than average. Hispanic and African-American ratings are each 74% below the national average.

Also: Ratings are highest on the West Coast of the U.S. (so perhaps everybody should stop giving NBC crap about the tape delay).