Ratings for the U.S. Figure Skating Championships were up from last year, but not quite good enough for prime time.
The Ladies Free Skate and Short Program on Saturday night averaged a 3.8 overnight on NBC, up 65% from a 2.3 for comparable coverage in ’07. It should be pointed out the U.S. Figure Skating Championships aired in the late afternoon last year; compared to the last prime-time telecast of the event, the 2006 edition which preceded the Winter Olympics, the 3.8 is down 19%.
Even on a dead night like Saturday, NBC could not keep up with the competition. NBC finished in fifth place among adults 18-49, behind Univision, drawing a 0.9/3. NBC was dead last in the demo every single hour on Saturday night, with ratings peaking at a 1.1 at 10:00 PM.
NBC was also dead last in total viewers among the big four networks, averaging 5.2 million. A special about the greatest Super Bowl commercials outdrew the figure skating during the 8:00 PM hour.
Sunday night was slightly better for NBC, though figure skating continued to draw less than impressive numbers. The Men’s Free Skate and Short Program drew a 3.5 overnight, which should be a substantial increase over comparable coverage last year, when the event aired on cable.
NBC finished fourth for the night, ahead of Univision and the lowly CW, averaging 5.5 million viewers and a 1.5/7 among adults 18-49. Figure skating coverage failed to draw a 1.0 rating in the 18-49 demo, and NBC finished fifth during both hours of coverage.
While the figure skating coverage did not help NBC much in prime time, it should be pointed out that the Championships were the second and third highest rated sporting events of the weekend. Much of that owes to the primetime spot the event was given, in the wake of the ongoing writer’s strike.
