NBC's coverage of the Opening Ceremonies was "the most
watched in history" and the second-highest rated ever, according
to the network. NBC Sports Research reports the ceremony
attracted 84 million viewers. The 23.6 rating and 45 share
trailed only L.A.'s '84 opener (23.9/48) and was a 71% increase
over Barcelona's 13.8/29. Women (age 18+) were 50% of the
audience, with men (18+) at 36% and young people at 14%.
Overnights from NBC's first day of coverage show a 19.9/39, up
16% from the 17.1/32 for the first day of Seoul '88 -- also a
Saturday. The first day of the Barcelona Games was a Sunday.
Saturday afternoon coverage posted a 14.2/37 (34% over Seoul),
while late night coverage gained a 9.6/28 (NBC Sports). In L.A.,
Larry Stewart notes the Opening didn't get "Super Bowl-type
numbers," but they were high enough to "thrill" NBC Sports
President Dick Ebersol (L.A. TIMES, 7/21). One rival network
exec: "It's going to be like having 'ER' on every night for the
next two weeks" (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 7/22). In Boston, Jack
Craig notes the opening night audience was strong well past
midnight, with a 29.1 late-night rating exceeding the prime-time
average (BOSTON GLOBE, 7/21). USA TODAY's Rudy Martzke notes the
17.2 final rating for Saturday night was the "highest ever for
the first night of competition" (USA TODAY, 7/22).
WIDE-RANGING REVIEWS: USA TODAY's Matt Roush: "When the
Games began, NBC got down to business" (USA TODAY, 7/22). The
WASHINGTON POST's Norman Chad: "Who's directing swimming
coverage? Andy Warhol?" (WASHINGTON POST, 7/22). The MIAMI
HERALD's Barry Jackson: "NBC demonstrated Sunday it knows how to
tug at your heart, play on your emotions and seduce you into
watching more Olympic coverage than you had planned" (MIAMI
HERALD, 7/22). Jackson also noted that swimming announcer Dan
Hicks "justified his rising sock at NBC" (MIAMI HERALD, 7/21).
The L.A. DAILY NEWS' Tom Hoffarth: "NBC, no slave to live
results, will not be a true news-gathering service. Nor will it
tell you what you're watching is live, slightly delayed, or
really, really delayed" (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 7/22). The Minneapolis
STAR TRIBUNE's Rachel Blount compares gymnastics analyst Tim
Daggett favorably to ABC's Dick Button for adding some "spark" to
the broadcast (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 7/22). In Tampa/St.
Pete, Ernest Hooper calls NBC's storytelling approach "best for
those who do not have a sense of urgency about results" (ST.
PETERSBURG TIMES, 7/21).
"U-S-A!, U-S-A!" Ebersol claims that they have made an
effort to avoid the "blatant over-kill" of Americanism at L.A. in
'84, according to the WASHINGTON TIMES. Ebersol: "We've gone
out of our way to eliminate 'we' and 'us' from our announcers'
vocabularies" (WASHINGTON TIMES, 7/22). Still, Phil Mushnick
writes of the coverage of the U.S. women's gymnastics team: "We
should root for this squad only because it's comprised of
Americans" (N.Y. POST, 7/22). TIDBITS: In Baltimore, Milton
Kent calls Dick Enberg "that increasingly rare breed of
sportscaster whose work consistently is of high quality"
(Baltimore SUN, 7/22).... Tonight, NBC will provide a 15-minute
feature on the 132nd anniversary of the Battle of Atlanta,
produced by Ebersol (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 7/22)....Ebersol
reportedly gave USOC Information Dir Mike Moran a "tongue-
lashing" upon hearing quotes from USA Boxing officials and team
members criticizing NBC's non-coverage. Still, the BOSTON
GLOBE's Ron Borges notes NBC may change its plans and give the
U.S. boxers some prime-time exposure (BOSTON GLOBE, 7/22)....
U.S. soccer coach Bruce Arena: "Soccer is going to be the
Olympic event with the largest attendance. How can that not be
newsworthy to NBC?" (N.Y. TIMES, 7/20)....Nielsen Media
Research's Monitor-Plus is offering half-hour ratings data,
available daily, for all NBC spots (AD AGE ONLINE, 7/22).... ABC,
ESPN, CNN, CBS and Fox protested NBC's 30-minute restrictions on
use of news conference footage. ACOG's Bob Brennan: "Unfair? I
don't know if it's unfair. It's the rights holder's advantage"
(N.Y. TIMES, 7/20).
