NBC Posts Modest Nielsen Rating For Opening Ceremony

NBC Pulls 12.8/21 For Opening Ceremony

NBC earned a 12.8/21 final Nielsen rating for the Opening Ceremony of the Turin Games Friday night, down 49.8% from a 25.5/42 for the ’02 Salt Lake City Games, the highest-rated Olympics Opening Ceremony ever, and down 25.1% from a 17.1/29 for the ’98 Nagano Games, the last Winter Olympics not held on U.S. soil. Salt Lake City drew the highest local rating on Friday with a 21.9/36, down 66.6% from ’02. NBC drew 50 million viewers for its Opening Ceremony coverage, making it the most-watched program on any net for the week. It was also the third most-watched Opening Ceremony for any non-U.S. Winter Olympics, behind Lillehammer in ’94 and Nagano in ‘98. The ’02 Salt Lake City Games drew 72 million viewers. The closest competitor to NBC Friday night was ABC, which pulled a 6.9/11. NBC, which won every half-hour, earned a 13.1/21 for the entire primetime window, the highest Friday primetime mark since the ’04 Athens Games. It nearly tripled NBC’s Friday average in the 18-49 demo, 6.6 to 2.3 (THE DAILY). However, the HOLLYWOOD REPORTER’s Cynthia Littleton reports the Opening Ceremony in the 18-49 demo finished the week behind “American Idol,” “CSI,” “Desperate Housewives” and “Lost” (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 2/13).

SECOND NIGHT: NBC earned a 13.5/23 for its Saturday night coverage from Turin, down 21.1% from the comparable 17.1/30 from ’02, but up 10% from the comparable 12.3/22 in ’98. The 13.5 is the highest rating for the first Saturday night for any non-U.S.-based Olympics since ’94, and was watched by 47 million total viewers. The rating is 9.8% higher than a 12.3/22 CBS earned for the first night of competition in ‘98. The marks are the highest for any program on NBC since the ’04 Athens Games, and the highest for a Saturday night on NBC since the ’02 Salt Lake Games (THE DAILY).

NOT AS STRONG AS BEFORE: DAILY VARIETY’s Rick Kissell writes the Games “clearly don’t have the same pull they once did -– and they will face much tougher [competition] in the days ahead.” The 6.6 in the 18-49 demo for the Opening Ceremony was down 57% from ’02 and 21% from ’98. And while NBC “more than doubled” second-place ABC Friday night, the net “drew more than five times the demo rating” of second-place Fox four years ago. NBC earned a 6.5/18 in adults 18-49 and 22.8 million viewers overall for Saturday night’s coverage, down 34% from ’02 (DAILY VARIETY, 2/13).

CANADIAN RATINGS: In Toronto, William Houston reports the CBC drew a total audience of 974,000 viewers for live coverage of the Opening Ceremony and 1.876 million for the primetime replay. That is down from 2.925 million for live primetime coverage in ’02. The CBC drew an average audience of 1.7 million viewers during Saturday afternoon coverage, but that figure dropped to 1.42 million in primetime. The net had 1.8 million viewers in the same time period in ’02 when programming was live (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 2/13).

NBC’s Williams (l) And Costas Net Mixed Reviews For Opening Ceremony Coverage

OPENING ACT: In Boston, Joanna Weiss wrote NBC’s Opening Ceremony coverage featured a “super-serious tone,” but the show “as a general spectacle ... wasn’t bad.” NBC’s Bob Costas and Brian Williams “spent much of the time being admirably quiet, perhaps because they realized there wasn’t much to say. Even so, they could have managed less” (BOSTON GLOBE, 2/11). In DC, Tom Shales wrote while the pair is “not exactly the epitome of high-flying funsters,” Costas and Williams “made a satisfyingly capable and no-nonsensical commentator team” (WASHINGTON POST, 2/11). In Cleveland, Roger Brown writes Costas handled the Opening Ceremony in “solid, straightforward fashion –- and without the smug attitude he often displayed during past Opening Ceremonies.” But Williams “added little” (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 2/13). The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER’s Barry Garron writes Williams “never stumbled, but neither did he sound entirely comfortable as a parade commentator.” The production quality “was as excellent as you would expect” (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 2/13). Comments on NBC’s “The Daily Nightly” blog included Williams being called “Debbie Downer” from “SNL” and asked if he had “anything good to say about anyone or anything.”

MISSING KATIE: In Seattle, Kay McFadden wrote, “When you get two male co-hosts, you get some antler-bumping. ... Williams’ natural emphasis on news bumped Costas into the [Katie] Couric position. This can’t have been easy for Costas, who usually takes the intellectual (and sometimes condescending) role in these proceedings” (SEATTLE TIMES, 2/11). In N.Y., Alessandra Stanley wrote under the header “In Couric’s Absence, A Cold Telecast.” Costas handled the Olympic “trivia and fun facts,” while Williams “held forth on gloomier current events.” The Opening Ceremony “could have used a bit more pizzazz in its coverage. NBC may have exiled Couric a moment too soon” (N.Y. TIMES, 2/11). On Long Island, Neil Best wrote, “Couric’s lighter touch would have helped. Williams put a serious, newsy spin on the parade that at times clashed with the mood, as in his update of the Iranian nuclear program” (NEWSDAY, 2/11).

COVERAGE IMPROVED: USA TODAY’s Robert Bianco writes even if NBC’s primetime coverage is packaged, “the package can be awfully attractive.” The net “has come a long way since its much-abused coverage” during the ’00 Sydney Games. The broadcasts are “capably anchored” by Costas, and they offer “longer stretches of fewer events and has been almost totally cleansed of sob stories” (USA TODAY, 2/13). USA TODAY’s Michael McCarthy writes NBC “has done plenty of things right so far –- more action, fewer schmaltzy profiles.” “Olympic Ice,” an hour-long show on figure skating on the USA Network hosted by Mary Carillo, is “a must-watch,” and the women’s hockey coverage on USA and MSNBC yesterday with commentators Bill Clement and Cammi Granato “was outstanding” (USA TODAY, 2/13). However, in N.Y., Andrew Marchand writes, “We are not sure we can take another minute. ... Besides the hockey and maybe the figure skating, is there any chance you would watch if it weren’t called the Olympics?” (N.Y. POST, 2/13).

The CBC Scores With Live Coverage Of Men’s Downhill

RESULTS WERE IN: The GLOBE & MAIL’s Houston writes the CBC gave the men’s downhill yesterday “great coverage,” airing it live at 6:00am ET, and replaying it in the afternoon and recapping it in primetime. In contrast, NBC aired the race in primetime on tape delay, more than 12 hours after its completion (GLOBE & MAIL, 2/13).

NOTES: In Miami, Barry Jackson writes NBC “wisely broke into programming” at 4:20am ET yesterday to report Michelle Kwan’s withdrawal from the women’s figure skating competition (MIAMI HERALD, 2/13)....In Richmond, Jerry Lindquist writes NBC “was delinquent in delivering as promised,” as Friday night’s broadcast of the Opening Ceremony was promoted to begin at 8:00pm, but “the first hour-plus ... was an Olympics buildup” (RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH, 2/13)....Olympic coverage was pre-empted on WHDH-NBC in Boston for live coverage of the weekend winter storm (BOSTON HERALD, 2/13).