Phelps' 8th Win Means Flashback to 1990

Yes, Michael Phelps's quest to win eight gold medals has helped give NBC much higher than expected ratings for the Beijing Olympics. And his eighth gold medal on Saturday was a bonanza. According to Variety, "You have to go back to 1990 — when Phelps himself was 4 years old — to find the last time NBC drew a larger aud for a Saturday program. That was with an episode of 'Golden Girls' spinoff 'Empty Nest,' which averaged 31.4 million viewers." Viva Dreyfuss! You can watch Phelps' various races here or you can revel in the New Yorker's Nancy Franklin's complaints about the Olympics telecast (Gawker says the review is so curmudgeonly, it "sounds… very New Yorker circa 1990!").

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By Jen Chung in News on August 18, 2008 2:03 PM

Comments [rss]

Reflect

whos is michale phelps?

matthew gannon

cw, we agree more than you might think. I think the USOC should prevent someone from monopolizing so many events. We send two people per event in swimming. In order to have more swimmers get to the Olympics, we should limit the # of events swimmers can enter. More people get to be a part of the Olympics.

But, those aren't the rules now.

Also, it would help give us more athletes than all other countries. Something else to win... ;-)

slyseekr

Empty Nest had 31.8 million viewers?

REALLY?????

amsci

Perhaps Empty Nest did well in the ratings b/c of David Leisure (aka Joe Isuzu)?

cwbuecheler

@MJG -

I'm just not the type of person who enjoys seeing one team/person be completely dominant, even if it's someone from my country/state/city/etc. I acknowledge that Phelps is a superlative athlete and probably the greatest Olympian ever, but I can't help feeling sorry for the guys who've trained just as hard and as long (or longer) who will never see a gold medal because their short window of opportunity occurred during Phelps's prime.

I did learn that there are a lot of fast people in Jamaica, though. I'll give you that.

plk779

cwbuecheler, why do you hate America so much?

j/k :) I agree with you. Especially on the filler - what's with that one insufferable woman and her boring, pointless reports on pandas and acupuncture??

matthew gannon

I'm relieved we're allowed to root for our country's athletes, cw. :-)

Michael Phelps is evolving into, arguably, the greatest Olympic athlete ever and that merits A LOT of coverage. If you're rooting against him, switch to preseason football.

But, NBC has also devoted tons of time to Chinese gymnasts, divers, badminton players, and a sprinter. They show a lot of non-American boxers. NBC also taught us lots of fast people live in Jamaica.

cwbuecheler

@Kojak & Jen -

Yeh, I can't say it's surprising that the US's coverage is very US-centric ... I just get tired of the endless patriotism. It's ok to root for the home team (which I do) but still be impressed and inspired by the accomplishments of other countries' athletes. I stayed up until 3am the other night watching women's weight lifting because I wanted to see if the South Korean girl could set all three world records (she did). :)

drewo

Empty Nest: the name of the Olympic arena after the conclusion of the games.

longacre

I know Empty Nest was kind of a big deal back then, but to be their top rated Saturday show for 18 years is pretty pathetic. Nevermind that it cost them $1 billion to replicate that number.

rdsizzle

Empty Nest was a regular at my house back then. I was in my early teens and I really didint like that shit and having to watch this kinda crap really accelerated my quest towards independance.

Jen Chung

Yeah, there is a lot of build-up. Also, FWIW, in China, they should the medal count with China on top, because it has the most golds, though the US has the most overall.

Kojak

I agree on all your points, but the US-centric coverage is what one should expect. Every other major network covering the games for their home country will undoubtedly focus on their athletes above everyone else.

cwbuecheler

In Nancy Franklin's defense, NBC's Olympics coverage has been a) haphazard (they jump sports every ten minutes), b) sappy as hell, c) overbearingly US-centric, and d) so Phelps-obsessed that I was actively rooting against him by the last few races.

There's also WAY too much human interest bullshit. A five minute sideline interview with a barely coherent runner after a nine-second qualifying race? Seriously? A ten minute puff piece about how much an athlete loves her dog?

Just show the friggin sports.