G357

SYDNEY -- NBC's broadcast of the Sydney Olympics isn't Saturday Night Live. Turns out it isn't Saturday Night Fever either.

NBC's Saturday night rating in this tape-delayed Olympics was a disappointing 13.1, down 24% from the 17.2 rating for Atlanta's 1996 Games and below the average 16.1 NBC promised advertisers.

"Saturday night is the most difficult night to deliver a rating," said NBC sports chairman Dick Ebersol, adding that he wants to see more results before drawing a conclusion. "NBC averages a 5.2 on Saturday nights, so I think this is pretty impressive"

The 13.1 was off 16% from the 15.6 for Seoul in 1988, the last Summer Games held in a similar time zone as Sydney. Of consolation to NBC is that the 8-11 p.m. prime-time rating of 13.6 was 12% better than the 12.1 combined average of competing shows on Fox, CBS and ABC.

"The whole megillah is thrown into Sunday night anyway," Ebersol said. "I expect our ratings Sunday night to be a high 18 or 19 and do a 20 during the week. Ask me after Sunday."

Saturday night's low rating pulled down NBC's overall two-day prime time average to 14.5, down 30% from Atlanta's 20.5 and off 6% from Seoul's 15.4.

The cumulative average is key, as NBC projected a 17.5 average prime-time rating for Sydney. NBC has sold more than $900 million in advertising, guaranteeing a profit on its $705 million rights fee. But advertisers will be given make-good ads if the average rating falls below 16.1.

After two nights, NBC's average for Sydney is 10% under the 16.1 guarantee.

With Sydney 15 hours ahead of New York, results are available on the Internet, radio and competing television outlets long before NBC's taped prime-time show. Strong U.S. performances can attract viewers to taped shows.