CBS had its highest-rated night of the Nagano Games on
Friday, receiving a 23.2/38 for its primetime coverage of
the ladies' figure skating long program. An estimated 72
million viewers watched all or part of the telecast, and the
rating is 11% ahead of the comparable night of the '92
Albertville Games, but down 47% compared to the '94
Lillehammer rating. CBS claims that more people watched
CBS's Friday coverage than any one night in '92. In the 38
metered markets, the "Late Show" with David Letterman scored
an 8.5/23 on Friday, beating NBC's "Tonight Show" with Jay
Leno, which got a 4.8/11. It was the largest margin of
victory for Letterman since April '94. On Saturday, CBS
received a 12.8/23 with an estimated 54 million primetime
viewers. Through Saturday, an estimated 182 million viewers
had watched all or part of the Games. Saturday's rating was
down 26% from the comparable third Saturday in '92 and down
48% from the '94 Lillehammer Games (CBS Sports). The "Late
Show" scored a 4.5/15 for the week, beating the 4.5/13
scored by the "Tonight Show." It marked David Letterman's
first first-place finish against original broadcasts of
Leno's show since August '95 (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 2/23).
