NBC Wednesday Olympics May Have Lowest Ratings Ever

Major Olympics ice
spill against 'Idol'

Pulls just half the audience of Fox's reality hit

By Diego Vasquez
Feb 23, 2006

Coming off the Olympics’ strongest night yet on Tuesday, NBC’s Wednesday
night coverage fell to new ratings and viewership lows for this Games.
In fact, it may have hit the lowest rating for any Olympics since at
least 1992, and perhaps ever, among adults 18-49.

NBC averaged just 15.5 million total viewers for its Olympics coverage
last night, according to Nielsen overnights, off 10 percent from its
previous low, 17.2 million viewers last Wednesday. The network averaged
a 4.5 rating among 18-49s, down 15 percent from its previous Games low,
a 5.3 rating last Friday night.

Overnights measure timeslot data, from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. Final numbers
will reflect the actual program data, and the Games lasted past 11 p.m.
But a quick glance at numbers from the last eight Winter and Summer
Olympics shows that last night will likely be the worst even if it bumps
up slightly.

True, last night featured events that aren’t exactly crowd pleasers,
such as women’s speed skating and yet more skiing, one night after the
ladies’ figure skating short program boosted NBC to its best levels yet
for Turin.

But the greater problem was the competition. For the fourth time in four
matchups, the Olympics got trumped by Fox’s megahit “American Idol.”

Fox last night averaged a 13.4 rating among 18-49s for its second night
of “Idol” competition, nearly three times the audience NBC attracted for
the Olympics. In terms of total viewers, Fox’s 31.4 million average more
than doubled NBC’s 15.5 million.

To be fair, “Idol” performed at a high level for two hours last night,
even by the reality competition’s gigantic standards. Its 31.4 million
viewers was a 4 percent jump over the 30.1 million it had averaged on
Wednesdays so far this season, and its 13.4 18-49 rating was a 9 percent
boost over the 12.3 it had previously averaged on the night.

It will be interesting to see what “Idol” and the Olympics do tonight,
when the ladies’ figure skating finishes up and ABC’s “Dancing With the
Stars” and CBS’s “Survivor” are all original.

With only “Idol” on its schedule, Fox led easily for the night among
18-49s with its 13.4 average rating and a 32 share. NBC followed at
4.5/11, with CBS third at 2.8/7, ABC fourth at 2.4/6, Univision fifth at
1.7/4, WB sixth at 0.7/2 and UPN seventh at 0.6/1.

At 8 p.m. Fox led with a 12.3 rating for the first hour of “Idol,”
followed by a 3.6 for NBC’s Olympics coverage. ABC was third with a 2.1
average for “George Lopez” (2.2) and “Freddie” (2.1), Univision fourth
with a 1.9 for “Contra Viento y Marea,” CBS fifth with a 1.8 for an hour
of “Still Standing,” WB sixth with a 0.8 for the first half of the movie
“Orange County” and UPN seventh with a 0.6 for “South Beach.”

“Idol” grew impressively during the 9 p.m. hour, averaging a 14.5 rating
among 18-49s. NBC remained second with a 4.3 for its Olympics coverage,
with CBS third with a 2.8 for a repeat of “Criminal Minds” and ABC
fourth with a 2.7 for a repeat of “Lost.” Univision ended fifth that
hour with a 1.9 for “Alborada,” WB sixth with a 0.7 for the second half
of its movie and UPN seventh with a 0.6 for a repeat of “Veronica Mars.”

NBC took the lead during the 10 p.m. hour with a 5.6 average for its
continued Olympics coverage. CBS was second with a 3.9 for a repeat of
“CSI: NY,” ABC third with a 2.6 for another “Lost” rerun and Univision
fourth with a 1.3 for “Don Francisco Presenta.”

Fox also took the night among households with an 18.1 average rating and
a 27 share. NBC was second at 9.7/15, CBS third at 6.4/10, ABC fourth at
4.1/6, Univision fifth at 2.1/3, WB sixth at 1.5/2 and UPN seventh at 1.2/2.

Diego Vasquez is a staff writer for Media Life.

© 2006 Media Life Magazine