Network Competitors Set to Skate All Over NBC's Olympics

By Lisa de Moraes
Thursday, February 9, 2006

The Winter Olympics are so over.

Sure, the competition hasn't started yet -- NBC's event coverage kicks in Saturday, after tomorrow's opening ceremonies.

But whereas in the past the Games pretty much owned prime time and the other broadcast networks stayed out of the way, this year those networks intend to swamp the Games coverage with a tsunami of original programming.

So what's different?

No buzz.

"Everyone sensed a lack of buzz -- and they're feeling good about their shows," said one competitor. The Games "are not this insurmountable thing -- 'Idol' scares me a lot more than the Olympics does."

No buzz, because no "personalities" have emerged, the suit explained.

Figure skater Michelle Kwan "is in her eighth Olympics," the executive joked. (Technically, this will be Kwan's fourth Winter Olympics, although in her first she was a backup competitor.) Skier Bode Miller "is the best thing that's ever happened to NBC and I'm not sure anybody's that interested in him."

What else has changed?

NBC's ratings.

"NBC is the fourth-placed network now. Why should the first-, second- or third-placed networks back down because the fourth-placed network has the Olympics?" noted another competitor.

Even though the Games bring a lot of new viewers to the network, NBC, with its ratings substantially down from its heyday, has far less ability to promote the Olympics than four years ago. It's not an appointment network anymore.

"This is the first time NBC has had the Olympics where they haven't been the number one network," Fox scheduling guru Preston Beckman said.

So, for the first time, the Olympics will face original episodes of "Survivor." Four years ago, CBS waited until after the Winter Games to debut an edition of its tribal competition.

The Games also will tangle with "Dancing With the Stars."

Plus, original episodes of "Desperate Housewives."

And "Grey's Anatomy."

"Lost."

"24."

"House."

And, biggest of all, for the very first time, "American Idol."

"Idol" is averaging more than 34 million viewers on Tuesdays and nearly 32 million on Wednesdays this season -- up 11 and 19 percent compared with last season.

That's appointment television on almost every night of the week.

The most watched shows aren't on NBC. So it's not like any of the biggest shows in the prime-time firmament are being rested by NBC while it airs the Winter Games.

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."