It only stands to reason that with the
Olympics on each night on NBC, its broadcast competitors would take a hit in ratings.
They are indeed, and so far they are taking a bigger hit than during the Sydney
Summer Olympics in 2000.
Suffering the most are CBS and Fox, with ABC also
seeing dropoffs, although not as much as four years ago.
For the week ending Aug. 22, the first full week of Olympics coverage,
CBS averaged a 5.0 household rating, second behind NBC.
But that number is down 15.3 percent from the last Olympic-free week,
the week ending Aug. 8, when it averaged a 5.9 among households.
Back in 2000, CBS also averaged a 5.9 rating in the summer’s last
Olympics-free week, which ended on Sept. 10. But two weeks later, the first full week of
NBC’s Sydney coverage, CBS slipped only to a 5.5 average household rating, a drop of
only 6.8 percent.
Fox, which averaged a 4.7 household rating during the summer of
2000’s last non-Olympic week, actually rose 6.4 percent to a 5.0 household average
during the first full week of competition in Sydney.
Fast forward to 2004 and it’s a different story. Fox averaged a
3.3 rating two weeks ago, but during the first full week of competition last week dropped
12.1 percent and averaged a 2.9 rating among households.
ABC hasn’t dropped more in ratings this year in terms of
percentage, but it is a much different network than it was four years ago, and its overall
ratings are way down.
This year ABC decreased its average household rating 16.6 percent
during the first full week of Olympic coverage. The network dropped 19 percent during the
same situation in 2000.
The difference? This year ABC’s average rating fell from a 3.6 to
a 3.0, while the network fell from an 8.4 to a 6.8 back in 2000.
Why the big change this year for the other three networks? Well, for one
thing, NBC's pulling better ratings this time around and that means fewer leftovers to
fight over.
NBC averaged a 15.7
household rating through nine days compared with a 14.7 average over the first nine days
in Sydney four years ago.
Plus,
the Athens Games are taking place during the perennially slow TV month of August whereas
the Sydney games took place in September.
In September 2000, most notably in ABC’s case with “Monday
Night Football,” the other networks had more to offer as Olympic competition. CBS and
Fox had pro football running over into their Sunday lineup.
This year the other networks have almost conceded defeat, as
illustrated memorably two weeks ago when CBS heartily declared the end of the summer days
before the Olympics opened.
PRIMETIME AVERAGES BY NETWORK
Ranked on Households
Week Ending August 22 |
Network |
Households |
People 2+ |
Adults 18-49 |
Rtg% |
(000) |
Shr |
Rtg% |
(000) |
Shr |
Rtg% |
(000) |
Shr |
| NBC |
16.2 |
17550 |
27 |
9.7 |
26740 |
26 |
9.5 |
12200 |
27 |
| CBS |
5.0 |
5370 |
8 |
2.6 |
7250 |
7 |
2.4 |
3120 |
7 |
| ABC |
3.0 |
3290 |
5 |
1.6 |
4530 |
4 |
1.7 |
2180 |
5 |
| Fox |
2.9 |
3160 |
5 |
1.6 |
4430 |
4 |
1.9 |
2500 |
6 |
| UPN |
1.7 |
1830 |
3 |
0.9 |
2480 |
2 |
1.0 |
1270 |
3 |
| WB |
1.6 |
1690 |
3 |
0.8 |
2180 |
2 |
0.9 |
1170 |
3 |
| PAX |
0.5 |
490 |
1 |
0.2 |
660 |
1 |
0.2 |
200 |
0 |
* Each
rating point is equivalent to 1.084 million homes
Source: Nielsen Media Research |
SEASON-TO-DATE PRIMETIME AVERAGES BY NETWORK
Ranked on Households
Week Ending August 22 |
Network |
Households |
People 2+ |
Adults 18-49 |
Rtg% |
(000) |
Shr |
Rtg% |
(000) |
Shr |
Rtg% |
(000) |
Shr |
| CBS |
7.7 |
8340 |
13 |
4.3 |
11810 |
12 |
3.5 |
4510 |
10 |
| NBC |
6.9 |
7500 |
12 |
3.8 |
10490 |
10 |
4.0 |
5130 |
11 |
| Fox |
5.3 |
5790 |
9 |
3.1 |
8500 |
8 |
3.6 |
4590 |
10 |
| ABC |
5.3 |
5770 |
9 |
2.9 |
8110 |
8 |
2.9 |
3790 |
8 |
| WB |
2.2 |
2410 |
4 |
1.2 |
3290 |
3 |
1.3 |
1720 |
4 |
| UPN |
2.2 |
2340 |
4 |
1.2 |
3190 |
3 |
1.3 |
1660 |
4 |
| PAX |
0.6 |
690 |
1 |
0.3 |
950 |
1 |
0.2 |
280 |
1 |
* Each
rating point is equivalent to 1.084 million homes
Source: Nielsen Media Research |
NETWORK TV
Ranked on Households
Week Ending August 22 |
# |
PROGRAMS |
Net |
HOUSEHOLDS |
PERSONS 2+ |
Rtg% |
Shr |
(000) |
# |
Rtg% |
(000) |
1 |
SUM OLYM THU
PRIME 1(S) |
NBC |
19.3 |
32 |
20897 |
1 |
11.5 |
31705 |
2 |
SUM OLYM TUE
PRIME 1(S) |
NBC |
18.3 |
30 |
19793 |
2 |
10.9 |
30146 |
3 |
SUM OLYM WED
PRIME 1(S) |
NBC |
17.3 |
29 |
18745 |
3 |
10.3 |
28396 |
4 |
SUM OLYM MON
PRIME 1(S) |
NBC |
16.6 |
27 |
18002 |
4 |
9.8 |
27109 |
5 |
SUM OLYM SUN
PRIME 2(S) |
NBC |
15.8 |
28 |
17121 |
5 |
9.4 |
26039 |
6 |
SUM OLYM FRI
PRIME 1(S) |
NBC |
14.4 |
27 |
15592 |
6 |
8.6 |
23749 |
7 |
SUM OLYM SAT
PRIME 2(S) |
NBC |
13.6 |
26 |
14694 |
7 |
8.2 |
22544 |
8 |
CSI |
CBS |
7.6 |
12 |
8260 |
8 |
4.1 |
11415 |
9 |
WITHOUT A TRACE |
CBS |
6.5 |
10 |
6999 |
9 |
3.4 |
9349 |
10 |
CSI: MIAMI |
CBS |
6.4 |
10 |
6887 |
10 |
3.3 |
9056 |
11 |
60 MINUTES |
CBS |
6.1 |
12 |
6597 |
11 |
3.2 |
8785 |
12 |
TWO AND A
HALF MEN |
CBS |
6.0 |
9 |
6543 |
15 |
3.1 |
8584 |
13 |
EVERYBODY
LOVES RAY |
CBS |
5.9 |
9 |
6411 |
11 |
3.2 |
8883 |
14 |
BIG BRO 5-THU |
CBS |
5.8 |
10 |
6267 |
11 |
3.2 |
8880 |
15 |
48 HRS MYSTERY |
CBS |
5.7 |
9 |
6137 |
19 |
2.8 |
7683 |
16 |
AMAZING RACE: 5 |
CBS |
5.5 |
9 |
6005 |
11 |
3.2 |
8731 |
17 |
CBS SUN MOVIE |
CBS |
5.4 |
9 |
5810 |
16 |
2.9 |
8113 |
17 |
COLD CASE |
CBS |
5.4 |
9 |
5821 |
16 |
2.9 |
7908 |
19 |
BIG BRO 5-TUE |
CBS |
5.3 |
8 |
5752 |
16 |
2.9 |
7868 |
20 |
60 MINUTES II |
CBS |
5.1 |
9 |
5553 |
21 |
2.6 |
7057 |
20 |
NAVY NCIS |
CBS |
5.1 |
9 |
5526 |
21 |
2.6 |
7162 |
22 |
20/20-FRI |
ABC |
4.8 |
9 |
5237 |
24 |
2.3 |
6463 |
23 |
MY WIFE & KIDS
WED 8:30PM |
ABC |
4.5 |
7 |
4827 |
23 |
2.5 |
6762 |
24 |
AMER FUNN HM
VIDEOS-SU 8P |
ABC |
4.4 |
8 |
4780 |
20 |
2.7 |
7353 |
25 |
KING OF QUEENS |
CBS |
4.2 |
7 |
4500 |
30 |
2.0 |
5643 |
25 |
MY WIFE AND KIDS |
ABC |
4.2 |
8 |
4577 |
24 |
2.3 |
6453 |
| Source:
Nielsen Media Research |
TOP 25 PROGRAMS – BROADCAST
Adults 18-49
Week Ending August 22 |
Rank |
Program |
Net |
Rtg% |
(000) |
1 |
SUM OLYM THU PRIME
1(S) |
NBC |
11.7 |
15110 |
2 |
SUM OLYM TUE PRIME
1(S) |
NBC |
11.1 |
14256 |
3 |
SUM OLYM WED PRIME
1(S) |
NBC |
10.4 |
13455 |
4 |
SUM OLYM MON PRIME
1(S) |
NBC |
9.9 |
12753 |
5 |
SUM OLYM SUN PRIME
2(S) |
NBC |
9.5 |
12218 |
6 |
SUM OLYM SAT PRIME
2(S) |
NBC |
8.1 |
10472 |
7 |
SUM OLYM FRI PRIME
1(S) |
NBC |
7.9 |
10233 |
8 |
CSI |
CBS |
4.1 |
5224 |
9 |
AMAZING RACE: 5 |
CBS |
3.9 |
5083 |
10 |
BIG BROTHER 5-THU |
CBS |
3.7 |
4742 |
11 |
BIG BROTHER 5-TUE |
CBS |
3.3 |
4257 |
11 |
CSI: MIAMI |
CBS |
3.3 |
4209 |
13 |
EVERYBODY LOVES
RAYMOND |
CBS |
3.0 |
3907 |
13 |
TWO AND A HALF MEN |
CBS |
3.0 |
3893 |
13 |
WITHOUT A TRACE |
CBS |
3.0 |
3901 |
16 |
CBS SUNDAY MOVIE |
CBS |
2.7 |
3524 |
16 |
SIMPSONS |
FOX |
2.7 |
3465 |
18 |
MY WIFE &
KIDS-WED 8:30PM |
ABC |
2.6 |
3322 |
19 |
AMER FUNN HM
VIDEOS-SU 8P |
ABC |
2.5 |
3222 |
19 |
EXTREME MAKEOVER:HM
ED-9P |
ABC |
2.5 |
3189 |
21 |
20/20-FRI |
ABC |
2.3 |
2996 |
21 |
48 HOURS MYSTERY |
CBS |
2.3 |
2998 |
21 |
BIG BROTHER 5-SAT |
CBS |
2.3 |
2958 |
21 |
FAMILY GUY-8/18
9:30P(S) |
FOX |
2.3 |
2976 |
21 |
FAMILY GUY-8/18
9P(S) |
FOX |
2.3 |
2904 |
21 |
MY WIFE AND KIDS |
ABC |
2.3 |
2904 |
21 |
NFL ON FOX PRESEASON
1(S) |
FOX |
2.3 |
2968 |
21 |
THAT '70S SHOW-8/16
8:30P(S) |
FOX |
2.3 |
2948 |
21 |
TRADING SPOUSES |
FOX |
2.3 |
2955 |
| Source:
Nielsen Media Research |
CABLE TV
Ranked on Households
Week Ending August 8 |
BASIC CABLE |
# |
PROGRAM NAME |
NET |
Households |
Persons
2+ |
(000) |
Rtg
% |
(000) |
1 |
NEXTEL
CUP/MICHIGAN |
TNT |
4223 |
3.9 |
6167 |
2 |
MONK
(2106 MONK TAKES MEDICINE) |
USA |
4101 |
3.8 |
5875 |
3 |
NFL
PRE-SEASON FTBALL
(SEAHWKS/PCKERS) |
ESPN |
2962 |
2.7 |
4123 |
4 |
WWE
ENTERTAINMENT
(WWE RAW ZONE) |
SPIKE |
2947 |
2.7 |
3850 |
5 |
WWE
ENTERTAINMENT
(WWE RAW) |
SPIKE |
2936 |
2.7 |
3784 |
6 |
FAIRLY
ODD PARENTS |
NICK |
2667 |
2.5 |
3376 |
7 |
FAIRLY
ODD PARENTS |
NICK |
2622 |
2.4 |
3547 |
8 |
SPONGEBOB |
NICK |
2612 |
2.4 |
3236 |
9 |
LAW
& ORDER |
TNT |
2575 |
2.4 |
3291 |
10 |
FUTURAMA |
TOON |
2517 |
2.3 |
3221 |
11 |
FUTURAMA |
TOON |
2503 |
2.3 |
3277 |
12 |
FAIRLY
ODD PARENTS |
NICK |
2469 |
2.3 |
3220 |
13 |
FAMILY
GUY |
TOON |
2466 |
2.3 |
3126 |
14 |
NIP
TUCK
(ROSE & RAVEN) |
FX |
2462 |
2.3 |
3453 |
15 |
LAW
& ORDER: SVU |
USA |
2447 |
2.3 |
3239 |
PAY CABLE |
# |
PROGRAM NAME |
NET |
Households |
Persons
2+ |
(000) |
Rtg
% |
(000) |
1 |
SIX FEET UNDER |
HBO |
2300 |
2.1 |
3361 |
2 |
ENTOURAGE |
HBO |
1175 |
1.1 |
1626 |
3 |
LEAGUE OF EXTRARDNRY |
HBO |
1076 |
1.0 |
1448 |
4 |
REAL SEX 29 |
HBO |
910 |
0.8 |
1051 |
5 |
LEAGUE OF EXTRARDNRY |
HBO |
860 |
0.8 |
926 |
*
Ratings based on 108.4 million U.S. TV homes. One ratings point represents 1.084 million
homes.
Source: Nielsen Media Research |
SYNDICATION
Ranked on Households
Week Ending August 15 |
# |
PROGRAMS |
Syndicator |
Households |
US
Rtg% |
(000) |
1 |
WHEEL OF FORTUNE |
KIN |
7.5 |
8184 |
2 |
JEOPARDY |
KIN |
6.4 |
6911 |
3 |
EVRY LVS RAYMOND-SYN
(AT) |
KIN |
5.9 |
6375 |
4 |
OPRAH WINFREY SHOW
(AT) |
KIN |
5.7 |
6195 |
5 |
SEINFELD (AT) |
SPT |
5.4 |
5836 |
6 |
FRIENDS-SYN (AT) |
WB |
5.2 |
5627 |
7 |
SEINFELD-WKND (AT) |
SPT |
5.1 |
5526 |
8 |
JUDGE JUDY (AT) |
PRM |
4.6 |
4960 |
9 |
ENTERTAINMENT
TONIGHT(AT) |
PRM |
4.5 |
4894 |
10 |
DR. PHIL SHOW |
KIN |
4.0 |
4302 |
| Source:
Nielsen Media Research |
SPANISH-LANGUAGE TELEVISION
Ranked on Households
Week Ending August 22 |
# |
PROGRAMS |
Net |
NHTI |
(000) |
1 |
MARIANA DE LA NOCHE
M-F |
UNI |
20.6 |
2173 |
2 |
AMARTE ES MI PECADO
M-F |
UNI |
19.5 |
2060 |
3 |
DON FRANCISCO
PRESENTA-WE |
UNI |
17.5 |
1849 |
4 |
MUJER DE MADERA M-F |
UNI |
16.3 |
1721 |
5 |
AQUI Y AHORA-THU |
UNI |
16.1 |
1704 |
6 |
AL FILO DE LA LEY
TUE |
UNI |
15.0 |
1581 |
7 |
ESCUELITA VIP FRI |
UNI |
14.8 |
1567 |
8 |
CRISTINA-MON |
UNI |
14.7 |
1552 |
9 |
CASA DE LA RISA FRI |
UNI |
14.1 |
1492 |
10 |
SABADO GIGANTE-SAT |
UNI |
13.2 |
1394 |
11 |
VER PARA CREER-SUN |
UNI |
11.1 |
1177 |
12 |
HORA
PICO...EXTRA-SUN |
UNI |
11.0 |
1166 |
13 |
PARODIA-SUN |
UNI |
8.8 |
934 |
14 |
PASION DE GAVILANES
M-F |
TEL |
8.4 |
892 |
15 |
HORA DERBEZ SAT |
UNI |
8.0 |
842 |
16 |
PRISIONERA M-F |
TEL |
7.2 |
761 |
17 |
GITANAS M-F |
TEL |
6.2 |
654 |
18 |
CINE LAS ESTREL2 SUN |
TF |
5.4 |
567 |
19 |
PROTAGONISTAS M-F |
TEL |
5.1 |
540 |
20 |
JGS OLMP-VRN VIE
PRIME 1 |
TEL |
4.8 |
511 |
21 |
CINEMUNDO PREMIER |
TEL |
3.9 |
408 |
22 |
SOLO BOXEO-Friday |
TF |
3.5 |
374 |
22 |
100 MEXICANOS
DIJERON M-F |
TF |
3.5 |
367 |
24 |
CINEMUNDO DEL SABADO |
TEL |
3.4 |
360 |
25 |
CINE LAS ESTREL1 SUN |
TF |
3.2 |
343 |
*
Nielsen Hispanic Television Index; ratings based on 9.7 million Hispanic TV homes.
Source: Nielsen Media Research |
NETWORK SPORTS
Ranked on Households
Week Ending Aug. 15 |
| # |
PROGRAMS |
Net |
Episode |
Households |
Persons
2+ |
US
Rtg
% |
Shr |
(000) |
(000) |
1 |
SUM OLYM SUN
PRIME 1(S)-8/15 |
NBC |
|
15.4 |
26 |
16693 |
25819 |
2 |
SUM OLYM OPEN
CEREM(S)-8/13 |
NBC |
|
14.6 |
27 |
15784 |
25384 |
3 |
SUM OLYM SAT
PRIME 1(S)-8/14 |
NBC |
|
11.8 |
23 |
12760 |
19819 |
4 |
AFC-NFC HALL
OF FAME
GAME(S)-8/9 |
ABC |
DEN. VS
WASH. |
7.3 |
13 |
7885 |
10838 |
5 |
SUM OLYM SUN.
PM 1(S)-8/15 |
NBC |
|
7.3 |
17 |
7874 |
11064 |
6 |
SUM OLYM SAT
PM 1(S)-8/14 |
NBC |
|
7.2 |
19 |
7752 |
11135 |
7 |
PGA CHAMPS
-SUN(S)-8/15 |
CBS |
|
4.4 |
10 |
4716 |
6268 |
8 |
SUM OLYM
SAT LN 1(S)8/14 |
NBC |
|
3.7 |
13 |
4017 |
5244 |
9 |
SUM OLYM
SUNDAY LN
1(S)-8/15 |
NBC |
|
3.6 |
15 |
3943 |
5022 |
10 |
FOX SAT.
BASEBALL |
FOX |
VAR.
TEAMS
&
TIMES |
3.0 |
8 |
3291 |
4559 |
11 |
PGA CHAMPS
SAT(S) 8/14 |
CBS |
|
2.8 |
7 |
3039 |
3826 |
12 |
WWE SMCKDWN! |
UPN |
|
2.6 |
5 |
2840 |
4162 |
13 |
SUM OLYM
SUN P RPLY 1(S)
8/15 |
NBC |
|
2.1 |
14 |
2277 |
2635 |
14 |
SUM OLYM
SAT P RPLY 1(S)
8/14 |
NBC |
|
1.9 |
12 |
2081 |
2421 |
15 |
SUM OLYM
OC RPLY(S)
8/13 |
NBC |
|
1.4 |
9 |
1515 |
1553 |
16 |
NTRA SUPER
SATS -8/14(S) |
ABC |
|
0.8 |
2 |
912 |
1180 |
17 |
BELTERRA
RESORT INDY
300(S)-8/15 |
ABC |
|
0.8 |
2 |
884 |
1163 |
| Source:
Nielsen Media Research |
|