NBC’s Olympic ratings rebound

The arenas in Athens may be half empty, but ratings for NBC’s coverage of the 2004 Summer Olympics seem to be recovering after a shaky start.

Forecasts of sparse attendance have so far proven true, with the early rounds Saturday and Sunday punctuated by embarrassing shots of gymnasts and swimmers competing before endless rows of nearly vacant stands.

The early prime-time ratings added to NBC’s worries. Friday’s opening ceremonies averaged a less-than-spectacular 25 million viewers, down 8% compared to the 2000 Sydney Olympics, according to figures from Nielsen Media Research. Numbers for Saturday -- when U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps won his first gold medal -- dropped 11%, to 18.7 million.

Sunday ratings rebounded, though, as viewers seemed to finally start paying attention to the games. Prime-time coverage rose 5%, to 25.1 million viewers.

Overall, NBC is offering more than 1,200 hours of Olympic coverage on its broadcast network as well as cable networks MSNBC, CNBC, USA and Bravo.