NBC sports czar Dick Ebersol didn't quite declare the Salt Lake Olympics the greatest Games ever, but he came close.
"I think from an organizational standpoint, they are far and away the best I've ever been involved with," said the chairman of NBC Sports and Olympics. "And it's hard for me to say that because I would've told you three years ago that it never would have turned out that way.
"But the thorough job that (SLOC president Mitt) Romney and (SLOC Chief Operating Officer Fraser) Bullock in particular brought to this is just mind boggling in just how complete the execution of it has all been. And I loved the way it all came out in Sydney, as well, but this has just surpassed my wildest expectations."
They're not quite giddy at NBC, but it's close. The ratings have been great, the revenue has exceeded expectations and even the reviews of their coverage have been good.
"I'm extremely happy and, most of all, proud of the efforts of just so many people who were engaged in presenting these Olympics for us to the American viewing public," Ebersol said.
The Salt Lake Games also proved to be the most profitable ever for NBC. The network sold $740 million in ads — including $20 million sold during the course of the Games — and expects to turn a profit of $75 million.
(That's not counting additional revenue from CNBC, MSNBC and the 13 NBC-owned local TV stations, all of which had huge increases in their ratings.)
Through 16 of the 17 days of the Games, NBC averaged a 19 rating and 31 share in prime time, which is 15 percent higher than what CBS did in Nagano in 1998. NBC won every hour of prime time during that run, beating the combined numbers of ABC, CBS and Fox by 25 percent.
NBC was particularly pleased to see a big increase in younger viewers whom advertisers so covet — its ratings among viewers 18-34 was up 23 percent from Nagano and up 25 percent from Sydney 2000.
What's most amazing is that the numbers for the Salt Lake Games were 147 percent higher than what ABC, CBS, NBC combined have averaged since the season began in September.
"You really have to put this in context . . . and Salt Lake City is the highest of all the Olympics over that underlying rating," said Randy Falco, president of the NBC television network COO of NBC Olympics. "This has had the highest impact and weight of any major event that we've measured."
The so-called "Olympic halo" has also boosted the ratings of everything from the "Nightly News" to "The Today Show" to NBC Sports coverage of the Daytona 500 and the NBA.
(The question, of course, is whether that "halo" will continue to hang over network programming now that the Games are over — and that hasn't necessarily happened with past Olympics.)
Over on cable, CNBC's Olympics coverage nearly tripled its regular ratings; MSNBC more than quadrupled its numbers.
Just about everything went NBC's way in Utah — and before. Ebersol attributed the popularity of the Games to "the way the country felt about itself" after Sept. 11, NBC's promotional campaign to raise awareness of the event, the "incredible organization" by SLOC "so that everything seemed to flow flawlessly," "great athletes" and even "extraordinary luck with the weather."
"And, finally — and maybe the most important factor — was the extraordinary performance by the home team, " he said.
"Americans like winners," said Falco.
And NBC, like the American athletes, comes out of the Salt Lake Games a big winner.
E-MAIL: pierce@desnews.com
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