NBC giddy at ratings for Beijing Olympics / LJWorld.com

Archive for Monday, August 25, 2008

August 25, 2008

New York City — NBC says the Beijing Olympics proved so captivating that millions of Americans now need to catch up on some sleep.

A survey of people who followed the Olympics found that 76 percent said they stayed up later than normal to watch, NBC said Sunday. More than half of its specially convened panel said they got fewer hours of sleep.

NBC Universal is giddy following its 17-day Olympics coverage, which ended Sunday with a tape-delayed presentation of the closing ceremonies. With thousands of hours available on the broadcast network, cable affiliates and online, the company said it surpassed the 1996 Atlantic Olympics to capture more viewers than any other event in U.S. television history.

Through Saturday night, NBC averaged 27.7 million viewers a night for its prime-time coverage, still the focal point for attention and advertising sales. That won't top the 33.1 million average for Atlanta. (NBC Universal attracted more viewers overall this year because of the cable hours that weren't available in Atlanta.)

Most important was that NBC was able to eclipse the prime-time averages for Athens in 2004 (24.6 million) and Sydney in 2000 (21.5 million). With more networks, Web sites and video games competing for attention each year, it's the rare television event that sees such growth.