That's 32 percent off the 21.5 it drew for the Atlanta Games. It's 11 percent below what NBC did in 1992 in Barcelona, which is a more fair comparison because the network had to deal with a big time difference as it has in Sydney. NBC took a risk at Sydney. NBC mixed live events with taped and scored some of the highest ratings ever for the Summer Games. Because of the 15-hour time difference from Eastern Daylight Time to Sydney, NBC decided to air no live events and fill its prime time broadcasts with the most popular sports, even though the results of the events are at times almost a full day old.
Most people know the results before they ever tune in.
As a result, many have not tuned in at all. NBC has also been hampered by the poor performance of the U.S. in the glamour sport of gymnastics. Things could pick up beginning tonight. Track, another high profile sport, begins. NBC has been touting the story of Marion Jones, who will go for a record five gold medals, since the Games began.