Network Competitors Set to Skate All Over NBC's Olympics

NBC's most watched prime-time program is "Law & Order: SVU," which ranks No. 21 for the season to date.

Fox's "American Idol" is No. 1.

And the Winter Olympics will face a mess of "Idol" over its 16 days.

Seven hours on five nights, to be exact, including the usual two hours next week, plus expanded two-hour editions Feb. 21 and Feb. 22.

(Staring at a two-hour "Idol" and the Olympics, ABC did blink on that night and is airing a rerun of the "Lost" pilot instead of a new episode because, as ABC scheduling chief Jeff Bader told the Associated Press, "there are certain programming combinations that you don't want to go up against -- we're better off saving an original.")

And, to commemorate the Games, Fox has added a one-hour "Idol" edition on Thursday, Feb. 23.

A perfect storm is brewing that night.

NBC's Olympics coverage, including the women's figure skating finals (aka the Winter Olympics Ratings Motherlode), must overcome not only that "Idol" show -- in which two women and two men will get whacked from the singing competition -- but also the final night of competition on the second edition of ABC's hit "Dancing With the Stars" and an original episode of CBS's reality staple "Survivor."

"It's one time period where we think all matter might be sucked into," joked another exec at a competing network.

Broadcasters also are being bullish because prime-time Olympicasts will not be live; four years ago, the Winter Olympics hailed from Salt Lake City, where the time difference was not such an issue.

Also, competition results are easily obtained by viewers, who are four years more Internet-savvy. So if Michelle Kwan gets to the finals and you find out in advance she does not win, "you're probably not going to watch it," one of the competitors speculated. (On the other hand, another noted, if you find out she did, you're probably going to tune in.)

And, speaking of figure skating, there's a whole lot of it in NBC's prime time for the next two weeks, even though that sport skews toward older women.

Which explains, only in part, why the country's most watched network, CBS, will run more repeats against the Games than its competitors. CBS's audience includes a larger percentage of those older viewers but its prime-time slate is also riddled with drama series that are not serialized. Dramas that are not serialized repeat well. Dramas that are serialized -- think "Lost," "24" -- don't.

Added to which, this February -- a ratings sweeps month -- is anomalous, what with ABC having the Super Bowl and NBC the Olympics.

"You look at the season and lay it out where you think you can best utilize your originals," CBS scheduling chief Kelly Kahl noted. "We made the determination this was not the most effective place to use them."