NBC wins, Oprah seeks Olympians

August 25, 2008
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This year’s Summer Olympics turned out to be a winner for NBC. Through Saturday night, NBC was averaging a 16.2 rating—meaning about 27.7 million viewers tuned in for its prime time coverage. Nationally, 28 percent of households on average tuned into the games.

The ratings were up 6.6 percent, and percentage of household viewers was up 11.2 percent from the 2004 Olympics in Athens. Through Saturday night, NBC had drawn 211 million viewers, up from the previous U.S. record of 209 million viewers for the 1996 Atlanta Games.

And there’s likely to be more air time for American medal winners. Oprah Winfrey is trying to book every U.S. medal winner to appear on her show during a special Olympic tribute in September. Several agents for Olympic athletes said they have been contacted by Winfrey agents, and a representative for The Oprah Winfrey Show confirmed that they are working on such a project.
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  • Peggy SchmidtAugust 26, 2008 12:09 PM
    Wish we could have had more info as to when the closing ceremonies would be aired. We really wanted to watch them but couldn't find them anywhere!

    Also, we failed to tune in regularly for many of the competitions since we already had learned that morning, who won.
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  • MattAugust 27, 2008 8:43 AM
    You go girl!
    Reply to CommentFlag Comment

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