During the week ending September 24, NBC's Olympic
coverage "took the primetime gold" for a second straight
week, but ABC's "MNF" was the No. 1 program among male
sports fans, according to Cynthia Littleton of the HOLLYWOOD
REPORTER. NBC had an average of 25.4 million viewers per
night and earned a 10.0/27 rating in adults aged 18-49.
NBC's Olympic coverage delivered a 9.4/25 in men 18-49 and a
10.9/25 in men 25-54 (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 9/27). NBC's
Olympic coverage "held down the week's top eight spots among
the most watched programs and seven of the top eight in
adults 18-49" for the week ending September 24 (DAILY
VARIETY, 9/27). SI's John Walters writes that "even with a
flawless broadcast and a dozen charismatic heroes, Sydney's
[ratings] would still be down from previous Games." Walters
adds that the Sydney Games "accounted for eight of the top
10 programs" last week, and on a daily basis, primetime
Olympic coverage has "outdrawn competing telecasts by an
average of six million viewers." Walters: "In other words
reports of the demise of televised sports have been greatly
exaggerated" (SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, 10/2 issue).
CRITICS CORNER: The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Steve McKee
criticizes NBC for cutting away too soon after Cathy Freeman
completed her 400 meter Gold medal run in order to carry
other sports: "Couldn't NBC just once have ignored its
research about what sports it says we want to see
(gymnastics!) and lingered with Ms. Freeman?" (WALL STREET
JOURNAL, 9/27). In N.Y., Caryn James pans NBC's athlete
vignettes: "In its relentless search for high drama, NBC has
stumbled into high camp [with] ... features so melodramatic
they are unintentionally comic, and a style so choppy it
attenuates suspense instead of building it" (N.Y. TIMES,
9/27). In NJ, Matthew Futterman writes that "most media
executives agree that the delayed broadcasts appear stale"
on NBC. Former CBS Sports VP/Programming Jay Rosenstein:
"There's no sense of immediacy, no sense of urgency, no
sense of vitality" (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 9/27). In Seattle,
Kay McFadden notes NBC's heavy focus on the C.J.
Hunter/Marion Jones story: "NBC and [MSNBC] won't let the
story go. Such devotion calls into question exactly what
constitutes legitimate news. ... The Hunter-Jones story is
too delicious not to take top billing at a network where
ratings have been below par" (SEATTLE TIMES, 9/27).
VISA IS VERY CLAIRVOYANT OR....: In N.Y., Phil Mushnick
writes the "comically absurd essence" of NBC's tape-delayed
coverage was captured during Monday night's coverage in a
Visa commercial that congratulated U.S. female pole vaulter
Stacy Dragila for winning the Gold medal. Mushnick: "About
an hour later, NBC presented coverage of the women's pole-
vault competition" (N.Y. POST, 9/27).
LETTERMAN'S RIPS: CBS' David Letterman: "When you're
watching [NBC's Olympic] coverage, it happened years ago
now. But it's working out pretty well. Last night Mark
Spitz won seven Gold medals." Letterman, on NBC's profiles:
"Last night the moving piece [NBC] put together about this
swimmer ... who's deathly afraid of water. ... The night
before, the pole vaulter afraid of heights" (CBS, 9/26).
EBERSOL ON IMUS: NBC Sports Chair Dick Ebersol called
Don Imus' radio show Tuesday after Imus continued to
criticize the net's coverage (MIL. JOURNAL SENTINEL, 9/27).
