NBC is averaging a 14.6/25 national Nielsen rating
through 12 nights of its Olympic coverage, which is down 36%
from Atlanta's 22.7/43 in '96, 19% from Barcelona's 11-day
average of 18.1/34 in '92 and 19% from Seoul's 18.0/32 in
'88. Tuesday's primetime coverage, from 8:00-11:00pm ET,
earned a 13.5/21, which was 80% above the network's season-
to-date Tuesday rating, while the evening's full coverage,
from 7:30pm-12:00am ET, averaged a 12.4/21 (NBC). In N.Y.,
Bill Carter notes that NBC "suffered a steep drop" in
ratings on Tuesday night, as the 12.4/21 rating is "one of
the lowest for any night of an Olympics in history" (N.Y.
TIMES, 9/28). The AP's Howard Fendrich notes it was the
"worst rating for Summer Games competition in at least 16
years" (AP, 9/28). The previous low for the 2000 Games was
a 13.1/25 on the first Saturday night (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER,
9/28). DAILY VARIETY's Rick Kissell: "So much for [NBC's]
momentum." ABC's repeat airing of "Who Wants to Be a
Millionaire" from 8:00-9:00pm ET on Tuesday drew 15.47
million viewers, which "came closer to the Olympics (18.12)
than any primetime program since the Sydney Games began"
September 15. Among adults 18-49, Tuesday night's Olympic
coverage averaged a 7.3 rating, "leaving the Games at a 9.0
average that's 38% behind the pace set in Atlanta four years
ago (14.4) and 26% behind the 1992 Barcelona Games (12.2)"
(DAILY VARIETY, 9/28). Under the header, "Olympic TV
Ratings An Almost-Total Bust," the N.Y. POST's Michael Starr
writes that "experts are trying to figure out how NBC blew
it." Pilson Communications President Neal Pilson: "There
didn't seem to be compelling stories coming out of Sydney
that captured the public's imagination" (N.Y. POST, 9/28).
NBC AND THE NIELSEN MEASUREMENTS: USA TODAY's Rudy
Martzke, on NBC asking Nielsen not to measure the first
half-hour of the network's Olympic coverage: "When is a
five-hour show only 4 1/2 hours? Answer: When NBC wants to
boost its lower-than-expected [ratings]." IMG Senior Group
VP Barry Frank: "I've absolutely heard of this practice at
the end of shows. But in my 43 years in the business, I've
never heard of this being done at the beginning of a show."
But Mediacom's Jon Mandel said, "NBC's doing something that
makes sense. It's logically used in a tough situation.
It's understandable." NBC President of Research Alan
Wurtzel said that NBC "planned" for the 7:30pm-12:00am
primetime rating measurement on some nights in Sydney "more
than a year in advance." Martzke notes that CBS "protested"
to Nielsen that NBC's shows "have been rated some nights
when the first national ad ran several minutes" after 7:30pm
ET. But NBC Sports VP/Communications Kevin Sullivan cited a
misunderstanding with Nielsen and said that NBC "always
intended to begin national ratings at 7:30 those nights."
Sullivan: "Nielsen's in the process of adjusting those
ratings." Wurtzel: "We want the best rating possible. ...
This is a common practice" (USA TODAY, 9/28).
