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NBC Olympics Victorious on Cable

Though viewership for NBC’s 2006 Olympic coverage has been low, the network’s cable news channels MSNBC and CNBC have seen their ratings triple since February 10th, writes Media Life.

 

Saturday’s women’s curling match with Italy from 5 to 8 p.m. was MSNBC’s best average in that timeslot since Election Day 2004, averaging 1.26 million total viewers. CNBC averaged 1.04 million total viewers last week for its curling coverage, a 700 percent increase over last February’s average in the 5 to 8 p.m. timeslot and 3 and a half times more than its average in January.

The big Olympic audience allows NBC’s cable networks to promote themselves to viewers who do not otherwise watch the networks. Both networks have been in decline, and it will be interesting to see if some of the Olympic audience stays after the games end.