CBS's Wednesday coverage of the Winter Games earned a
15.3/24 rating and the network estimates that 56 million
people watched all or part of the event, according to Lisa
de Moraes of the HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. Through Wednesday,
CBS's primetime coverage of the Games is averaging a
16.4/27, which is down 14% from the comparable period of the
'92 Albertville Games and down 33% from the '94 Lillehammer
Games. CBS "easily dominated every primetime half-hour in
homes with its highest overall Wednesday rating" since '94.
But, de Moraes adds that, demographically, ABC and Fox "are
holding up against the Olympics" (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 2/13).
MAKE-GOOD USE: While CBS is "faced with the likelihood"
of offering make-goods starting Monday, "because these spots
have been previously scheduled in the event of a ratings
shortfall, there will not be an avalanche of additional ads
such as NBC experienced in Seoul in 1988" (Rudy Martzke, USA
TODAY, 2/13). CBS Sports spokesperson Dana McClintock,
commenting on the ratings: "We haven't had any men's hockey
or (singles) figure skating. We're showing big, beautiful
features, but people at home are probably wondering why
they're seeing those instead of the men's downhill.
Snowboarding is a 12-plus rating; that's good, but it's not
an Olympic-size rating" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 2/13).
