NBC is averaging a 14.6/25 national Nielsen rating
through its first six days of Olympic coverage, down 36%
from Atlanta's 22.8/42 in '96, down 20% from Barcelona's
five-day average of 18.3/34 in '92 and down 13% from Seoul's
16.7/30 in '88. NBC's coverage on Wednesday from 7:00pm-
12:00am ET averaged a 14.6/25, down 35% from the comparable
Wednesday in '96, off 23% from '92 and down 19% from '88.
However, Wednesday's prime-time coverage, from 8:00-11:00pm
ET, averaged a 16.4/27, more than double the household
delivery of any other network, outperforming CBS' 5.0/8 by
228%, ABC's 5.8/9 by 183% and Fox' 6.7/10 by 145% (NBC).
Nielsen Sports Marketing reports that NBC earned a 16.9/28
preliminary overnight rating for Thursday night (THE DAILY).
ON CABLE: Inside.com's Tom Bierbaum: "It's time to
officially bury [NBC's] chances of meeting its Nielsen
projections or ad guarantees. Barring some unforeseen
development ... NBC no longer has even an outside shot of
achieving its Sydney goals." Bierbaum adds that NBC's
daytime and late-night numbers "continue to fall
disastrously short" of past Olympic levels. Wednesday's
10:00am-2:00pm ET segment did a 3.2/13 overnight rating, up
3% from the Monday-Tuesday average of 3.1/12. Wednesday's
late-night coverage averaged a 3.4/16, matching NBC's
previous average for Saturday through Tuesday. Bierbaum:
"Ratings so far are approximately half what NBC managed in
early-morning overnights for both the 1992 and 1988 games"
(Inside.com, 9/22). MSNBC's 10:00am-5:00pm ET Olympic
coverage Monday averaged a 0.6 cable rating, up 200% from
the block's third-quarter average. CNBC's 5:00-9:00pm ET
Olympic coverage Monday averaged a 0.5 cable rating, up 25%
from the third-quarter average (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 9/22).
EBERSOL GETTING TESTY DOWN UNDER: USA TODAY's Rudy
Martzke reports that NBC Sports Chair Dick Ebersol
"expressed his anger" Friday morning at the "numerous
articles" blaming the ratings shortfall on NBC's decision to
show the Olympics on tape. Ebersol: "It's a moronic issue.
... Showing major events from 3 a.m. to 7 a.m. would be
sheer folly. The CBC, the current media darling of USA
TODAY and others, is hardly averaging 200,000 viewers
weekday mornings with the coverage of swimming and
gymnastics. Canada has 32 million people. Come on, editors
everywhere. Do your research" (USA TODAY, 9/22).
Meanwhile, in Toronto, Chris Zelkovich reports through
Tuesday night, CBC's prime-time coverage was averaging 1.38
million viewers, down 3% from the first five days in '96.
CBC Sports Exec Dir Nancy Lee: "We're satisfied with the
ratings" (TORONTO STAR, 9/22). Also in Toronto, John
Allemang writes the CBC, "despite relatively lackluster
performances by Canadian athletes, is still meeting the
viewership targets it provided advertisers" and will not
have to provide make goods (GLOBE & MAIL, 9/22). In Ottawa,
Rob Brodie writes CBC's live coverage has "become one of the
biggest TV stories of the Sydney Games" (OTTAWA SUN, 9/22).
SOME GOING TOO FAR? In Chicago, John Jackson: "Sure,
NBC is disappointed with the ratings for the first week of
the Sydney Games, but anyone labeling it a 'disaster'
doesn't understand simple economics. ... NBC will make a
decent profit even if the ratings disappointments continue.
Some disaster" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 9/22). But in Baltimore,
Milton Kent writes, "If the hemorrhage continues, NBC could
be forced to lay off personnel, and the network's efforts to
sell time for the Summer Games of 2004 and 2008 could be
impacted." But there should be "little effect" on sales for
the 2002 Winter Olympics. Kent: "In NBC's defense, showing
these Olympics live would mean the network committing
corporate suicide. ... [But] NBC is not blameless in this.
The network is undoubtedly paying a price for its arrogance
in Atlanta, where it passed off taped coverage as live and
growled at anyone who pointed it out" (Baltimore SUN, 9/22).
WANTED: STARS FROM SYDNEY: U.S. Olympic runner Marion
Jones makes her first appearance in competition on NBC
tonight, and in Atlanta, Prentis Rogers writes, "It couldn't
come a moment too soon with the network's plight in the
ratings game" (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 9/22). Media buyer
Paul Schulman partly blames the ratings shortfall "on the
decline of the once mighty U.S. women's gymnastic team":
"You don't sit at home rooting for Romania vs. Russia. It
hasn't been riveting" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 9/22). In
Australia, Stephen Romei, explaining the ratings drop: "It's
the athletes, stupid!" (AUSTRALIAN, 9/22). In Toronto,
William Houston looks for personalities: "Games glitz by
itself won't deliver a huge audience" (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL,
9/22). Among Leonard Shapiro's reasons for the ratings drop
are, "No athlete buzz, especially American athletes"; "The
endless storytelling"; "The lingering scent of scandal"
(WASHINGTON POST, 9/22). One source calls NBC's prime time
package "so slick it's almost unreal. The profiles look
like commercials and they're using too many tight shots.
The show doesn't breathe, and it's because the concept is
flawed" (Long Beach PRESS-TELEGRAM, 9/22). But in Toronto,
Chris Zelkovich writes, "NBC's athlete profiles are without
peer. Better yet, a good portion of them have focused on
foreign athletes" (TORONTO STAR, 9/22). On Wednesday's
edition of NPR's "Talk of the Nation," host Juan Williams
posed the question, "What if someone put on the Olympics and
no one watched?" N.Y. Daily News' David Bianculli said, "If
NBC is shaping its coverage supposedly to please women, I
would be even more insulted than I am now" (NPR, 9/20). But
on his radio commentary on the WinStar Radio Network, Keith
Olbermann said, "OK, we get the point. NBC, trapped in a
pre-Internet mindset that will cost them millions and
devalue the Olympic mystique yet again, screwed up. Time
for a moratorium on the jokes" (Winstar Radio, 9/21).
STRONG MARKETS: In Cincinnati, John Fay cites WLWT-NBC
General Sales Manager Mike Hayes as saying the station's
local Olympic ratings "have been huge." WLWT is averaging a
17.5/29 local prime-time rating, 8% higher than what NBC is
doing nationally (CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, 9/22). In Seattle,
John Levesque cites overnight ratings reported by Nielsen as
indicating that Seattle's KING-NBC and Salt Lake City's KSL-
NBC are "enjoying the most robust Olympic viewership in the
country" (SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER, 9/22).
