NBC Scores With Youth, West Coast

NBC cited strong interest among younger viewers and people living on the West Coast for strong ratings of the Winter Games through Sunday night’s broadcasts from Salt Lake City. The network also benefited from the pairs skating medals scandal, Saturday’s highly rated U.S. hockey game against Russia and growing interest in speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno.

As many as 180 million Americans are expected to tune in to the network by the time the Olympic flame is extinguished Sunday night.

“The fact is, women’s figure skating, normally the highlight of the Winter Games, hasn’t even started yet,” Randy Falco, president of NBC Television, said during a teleconference Monday. “We’re bullish about where we’ve been and where we’re going.”

The latest ratings were good news for NBC, which paid $545million for broadcasting rights and earlier hit its goal of selling $720million in Olympic advertising. The strong ratings midway through the Olympics has helped NBC jump into first place for the broadcast season.

The number of households watching Winter Games coverage grew by 10% over CBS’ average during the Nagano Games in 1998, according to NBC. The network, which has actively promoted its broadcasts to younger viewers, enjoyed a 17% increase in viewing among those ages 18 to 24.

Households that tune in to NBC are spending 90 minutes to two hours each day watching, an increase of 6% from CBS’ coverage in 1998. The MSNBC and CNBC cable operations, which broadcast hockey games and other contests, also are enjoying a noticeable increase in viewers.

Viewership among West Coast residents is 8% stronger than the national average, according to NBC. The strong showing has blunted criticism of NBC, which opted to delay broadcasts of some key events and show them later on tape.

The U.S. hockey team’s 2-2 tie with Russia on Saturday turned into the highest-rated hockey game of any kind--Olympics or NHL--to be broadcast on American television since the 1980 “Miracle On Ice” during the Lake Placid Games.

NBC also has benefited from a decision to trim this year’s broadcasts to 31/2 hours each night, down from five hours when CBS broadcast the Nagano Games. Falco said it’s “asking a lot” to expect viewers to turn on television sets at 7 p.m. for a five-hour broadcast.

NBC’s ratings announcement was well received by advertisers using the broadcasts as a conduit to younger consumers. “This is a very important audience for us, and you’re seeing that events like freestyle aerials, the moguls and snowboarding have been a great draw,” said Visa USA spokesman Joe Carberry. “NBC’s numbers show that the Olympics is a great platform to reach these people.”