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Olympics stumble at start
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February 11, 1998: 7:11 a.m. ET
Weather delays cause CBS coverage to fall below expectations
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - The snow storms that have halted many Alpine events at the XVIII Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan, reportedly could send a chill among advertisers.
CBS Corp. has delivered ratings for the first four days of the Games that were about 17 percent below what was promised, raising prospects of expensive givebacks if the numbers don't approve, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
The Tiffany network, which paid $375 million for the rights to broadcast the Olympics, has garnered an estimated $550 million in ad revenue.
But, CBS told Madison Avenue it would deliver a 19.6 rating and 30 share. Thus far, CBS's coverage has averaged a 16.3 rating and 26 share. Each rating point represents about 980,000 U.S. households while share refers to the percentage of homes watching television that are turned into the Olympics.
Not helping the situation was the network's decision to broadcast training runs and exhibitions during prime time in lieu of events such as downhill skiing and the grand slalom due to weather-related delays.
For now, the Journal reported advertisers are unhappy but willing to see if CBS's coverage picks up.
Despite the early disappointments, the Olympics led by the opening ceremonies have helped CBS garner its best weekly ratings in more than three years. The network is poised to win the coveted February "sweeps" period.
Also, the lower-than-expected ratings came before U.S. contenders started winning medals. Two gold medals have gone to U.S. athletes since.
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