A media buyer's
guide to the Olympics
What you need to know about the Winter Games
By Toni Fitzgerald
Feb 12, 2010
The 2006 Winter Olympics delivered the worst ratings ever among adults 18-49 and total viewers.
In fact, viewership for "American Idol," "Grey's Anatomy" and "Survivor" routinely topped NBC's Olympics coverage, and the network didn't even win the February sweeps, finishing third behind Fox and ABC.
But to dismiss those Games as a bust would be missing the point.
While the Winter Olympics may never again reach the heights of 2002, they still have the ability to deliver the sort of mass audience that has become increasingly rare on television, and this year's Games could see ratings improve because of fewer tape delays in primetime and more live coverage.
With the opening ceremonies airing tonight, here's a primer on everything media people need to know about the Winter Games, which run through Feb. 28.
This year marks the 21st Winter Games, and the second time in the past three Olympics that the Games have taken place in North America.
That's good for NBC, as it will mean less tape delay than it had to use in Turin, which was six hours ahead. The last Olympics to take place in North America, the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, saw huge ratings increases over 1998.
Salt Lake averaged a 19.2 Nielsen household rating, up 18 percent over Nagano in '98. It was also the first Olympics to feature snowboarding, leading to a 27 percent increase in ratings among adults 18-34.
With the Olympics moving abroad in 2006, and interest in reality shows such as "American Idol" and "Dancing with the Stars" still growing, the most recent Winter Games saw ratings plummet.
The Turin Games averaged a 12.1 household rating, which was off 37 percent from Salt Lake City and 26 percent from Nagano. Yet that was more than double NBC's season-to-date average in 2005-'06, and the network bettered its competitors in that span by at least 76 percent apiece.
The massive reach of the Olympics is virtually unduplicated. In 2006, 184 million Americans tuned in to at least 6 minutes of the Games, the third-highest total ever for the Winter Olympics.
Still, NBC Universal has already said it will lose some $200 million on these Games, largely because it paid an exorbitant fee, $820 million, for the rights. According to reports, the network has sold just $670 million in advertising, charging up to $600,000 for primetime spots for top events like ladies' figure skating.
The losses are despite the addition of advertising opportunities across a host of platforms that weren't even widely available in 2003, when NBC bid on the rights to these Games.
Hundreds of hours of live coverage will air on its web site. Events and competitions will be available for replay as well, and also available on local cable on-demand systems. The network has a special mobile phone Olympic site too, and viewers can sign up to receive results for their favorite athletes via Twitter or on their phones.
NBC Universal's usage of cable to carry the Olympics has also exploded the past seven years. This year will carry 835 hours of coverage across five networks (NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, USA and Universal HD) and online.
That's almost double the coverage it aired from Turin four years ago (419 hours) and more than the combined coverage from the 2006 and 2002 Winter Games (794.5 hours).
It will include an average of 50 hours per day over 17 days, and it will all be broadcast in high definition, another Olympic first. Online coverage will also be available in HD.
The 2006 Olympics on USA averaged 906,000 viewers, up 29 percent from the previous year, and MSNBC averaged 442,000 viewers, up 123 percent.
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