Olympics Opening Wins TV Ratings Gold
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Monday, August 11, 2008; Page C07
NEW YORK -- The colorful Opening Ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics, shown Friday night on NBC, averaged 34.2 million viewers, making it the biggest television event since the Super Bowl.
It was the biggest audience ever for Olympic Opening Ceremonies not held in the United States, and even eclipsed this year's Academy Awards and the finale of "American Idol," according to Nielsen Media Research.
The numbers were all the more impressive since it was a Friday night in August, when many people have better things to do than watch TV. And if they do choose to watch television, the number of options is growing year by year, meaning most television programs typically go down in ratings.
The most recent Summer Olympics, in Athens four years ago, averaged 25.4 million viewers for its first night, Nielsen said. Sydney in 2000 had 27.3 million viewers.
"It was a magical and memorable spectacle and a great way to start the Beijing Olympics," said Dick Ebersol, chairman of NBC Universal Sports and Olympics.
It was also good news for NBC and its advertisers, particularly since there was concern Friday that computer users would find ways to access non-NBC video feeds and watch portions of the ceremonies before they appeared on the network. Because of the time difference, NBC aired the ceremonies in the Eastern United States 12 hours after they took place.
Actually, the tape delay may have helped NBC, allowing word of mouth to spread about the spellbinding ceremonies, which featured an estimated 15,000 cast and crew members, many performing intricate dance moves with images that used Beijing's new stadium as a backdrop.
