NBC is averaging a 14.5/26 fast national Nielsen rating
for its first three nights of Olympic coverage, down 32%
from Atlanta's 21.4/42 in '96, down 10% from Barcelona's
two-day 16.2/32 in '92 and down 10% from Seoul's 16.2/30 in
'88. On Sunday, NBC's primetime coverage from 7:00-11:00pm
ET earned a 15.0/24, which NBC states is more than double
its season-to-date Sunday rating of a 6.9/11 and nearly
double the other individual networks' programming (NBC).
IS THIS THE STORY? In a front page report in USA TODAY
under the header, "Games' Ratings Listless," Rudy Martzke
notes the three-day average is 17% below NBC's projected
17.5 and 10% below the 16.1 guaranteed to advertisers.
Mediacom's Jon Mandel: "Am I concerned? Yeah. Am I
worried? Not yet, but give me three days." Y&R Broadcast
President Bob Igiel said that Sunday "football was a factor"
in the dip. Overall, "It's a little premature to say how
[NBC] will do" (USA TODAY, 9/19). In N.Y., Don Kaplan:
"NBC's plan to air the games on a tape delay may be starting
to take its toll on the telecast's ratings." But Olympic
sources said that even if NBC's Sydney rating dips below its
guaranteed 16.1, "there's room for negotiation." One
source: "It's not so black and white" (N.Y. POST, 9/19).
Inside.com's Tom Bierbaum: "It's now going to take a small
miracle -- actually a big miracle -- if NBC is going to
somehow achieve its Olympic ratings goals in Sydney." The
Sydney games "are now averaging the lowest household ratings
through the first Sunday of competition" since the '84
Winter Games in Sarajevo. Meanwhile, Fox' and CBS' NFL
coverage on Sunday "unexpectedly found gains in comparison"
with last year. Fox's NFL doubleheader averaged an 11.1/23
rating, up 3%, while CBS' single-game coverage earned a
9.6/20, up 5% (Inside.com, 9/19). In Boston, Howard Manly:
"In some cases, other sports programming was able to hold
its own against the Olympics" (BOSTON GLOBE, 9/19).
NBC REVIEWS -- THE GOOD: In Toronto, William Houston:
"NBC has given the world's athletes a fair look at Sydney.
And we haven't seen any bias in the coverage" (Toronto GLOBE
& MAIL, 9/19). The WALL STREET JOURNAL's McKee & Weber:
"MSNBC's long-format programming is terrific. Wonderful.
Thoroughly enjoyable. ... Cable ratings aren't available
yet, but here's a note to MSNBC: Ignore them. ... from the
viewers standpoint it's about doing the right thing. In
that regard, MSNBC/CNBC has already won" (WALL STREET
JOURNAL, 9/19). In Salt Lake City, Martin Renzhofer writes
"it is time to stop whining and throw NBC a word of praise
for the way it has covered" the Games (S.L. TRIBUNE, 9/19).
In N.Y., Richard Sandomir writes NBC is up front about its
tape-delay coverage "and has done its business with
estimable style and skill," while it has "muted its formerly
jingoistic Olympic style." Sandomir calls gymnastics
analyst Tim Dagget "the best of NBC's group so far." But he
adds that NBC should "get rid of those NBC Web site promos.
If NBC won't, then stop the wholesale shrinking of the
screen to push viewers to go on line" (N.Y. TIMES, 9/19).
THE NOT SO GOOD: In DC, Tom Shales writes NBC should
begin each night's telecast with the intro to the "Star
Wars" films: "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away ..."
Shales: "Much about [NBC's] coverage has been enough to put
people to sleep. ... Everything is so packaged and
overproduced as well as after-the-fact that by the time it
reaches American TV screens it seems remote in the worst
sense of the word." The athlete profiles "are produced with
such glib, shallow slickness -- and so many camera and
editing tricks -- that they look like commercials"
(WASHINGTON POST, 9/19). The N.Y. Post's Michael Shain:
"[NBC's broadcast] is very featurey. The one thing ... that
NBC is scared to death about is putting off female viewers,
so they've put on a lot of behind the scenes [features] ...
and a lot of times that's just not working. People really
do want to see the competition. I think NBC may have sold
its audience a little short" ("Bizz Buzz," 9/18). USA
TODAY's Rudy Martzke notes there "were no winning U.S.
performances" during Monday's telecast. Mediacom's Jon
Mandel: "Monday's telecast looked flat. There was no
spontaneity, no excitement. It looked too contrived. ...
NBC needs a story line to grab people." Martzke: "NBC is
learning more than ever that a network sometimes is only as
good as the number of stories that grab viewers' attention"
(USA TODAY, 9/19). In Chicago, Ron Rapoport: "We live in a
time when instant communication is possible throughout the
world. Yet the network whose millions are the Olympics'
biggest source of income can recoup its investment only by
not doing the one thing television does best: Let us watch
history as it is being made" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 9/19).
NEWSDAY's Steve Zipay: "On Sunday night ... we watched NBC's
repackaging of the men's triathlon from Sydney and were
reminded why this format fails." One amateur triathlete:
"The whole thing really bothered me. NBC did the event no
justice. It was disjointed; there was no continuity"
(NEWSDAY, 9/19). In Boston, Alex Beam: "Is it possible that
these Olympics are being filmed on the same set where NASA
faked the moon landings? How do we know that [fellow
columnists] Bob Ryan and Michael Holley are really in Sydney
-- have you seen them there?" (BOSTON GLOBE, 9/19).
CBC'S PR WINDFALL: USA TODAY's Kevin Allen examines the
CBC's live coverage from Sydney and writes while it "isn't
as flashy, perhaps less sophisticated, than NBC's coverage,
... its homey-ness has its own charm" (USA TODAY, 9/19).
In Toronto, Chris Zelkovich noted that CBC covered the drug
issue facing Canadian equestrian Eric Lamaze last night and
writes, "While NBC was treating its viewers to soft-focus
features on athletes and breaking news on gold medals won
almost a day ago, CBC was dealing expertly with real news --
and live, too" (TORONTO STAR, 9/19). On "GMA," ABC's Don
Dahler reported live from an all-day deli in Windsor,
Ontario, where patrons were watching the Olympics live on
CBC. Dahler noted that the CBC "has seen a one million
percent increase in their late, late night viewership"
because of the Games. Dahler added that "everywhere you go"
in Windsor, people were staying up until "all hours" to
watch the Games ("GMA," ABC, 9/19).
SHOTS AT NBC: Promoting next week's Colts-Jags "MNF"
game, ABC's Regis Philbin said, "'Monday Night Football.'
It's really live and the U.S. team always wins" (ABC, 9/18).
....A PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS editorial: "In the spirit of
the Sydney Olympics, our editorial on the games has been
time-shifted to tomorrow" (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 9/19).
NO TRACKS OF HER TEARS: The L.A. TIMES' Alan Abrahamson
was granted "exclusive access" to NBC's production crew and
truck during last night's swimming coverage. As 16-year-old
U.S. swimmer Megan Quann was presented the Gold medal for
the women's 100-meter breaststroke, Abrahamson writes that
NBC Exec Producer Tommy Roy "hollered" at the production
truck monitors, "Come on cry for us." After the anthem was
played and Quann did not cry, Roy said, "Arrgh. Swimmers
are too tough to cry" (L.A. TIMES, 9/19).
