The Sked: SUNDAY RATINGS July 1: Olympic Fever Begins to Build

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A terrific night for NBC as the Sports division took control of Sunday night from the Entertainment division.  U.S. Olympic Trials coverage of three sports dominated the other networks, posting a 2.5 preliminary Adult 18-49 rating from 7-11 pm while the other networks could only muster around a 1 rating (with mostly repeats).

NBC started the night with Track & Field trials from 7-8 pm with a 1.4 rating, followed by a 2.1 rating from 8-9 for Swimming.  But Gymnastics ruled the night, turning in a very good 3.2 rating from 9-11 pm.  The gymnastics coverage started with a 2.9 in the 9:00 half hour, then built to a 3.3 at 9:30 and 10:00, and ended with a 3.4 at 10:30.  The coverage actually ran a few minutes past 11:00, as the network waited for the selection committee to announce the final composition of the women’s team.

FOX and ABC finished in second with a 1.2 rating each.  FOX’s repeat comedies ranged from a nightly high of a 1.4 rating for The Simpsons at 8:00, Family Guy at 9:00 and American Dad at 9:30.  Bob’s Burgers turned in a 1.2 at 8:30, while the 7 pm hour struggled with American Dad (0.7 at 7:00) and Cleveland Show (0.8 at 7:30).

ABC tried original programming from 8-11 pm, but it didn’t do much better than the America’s Funniest Home Videos repeat at 7:00 (1.1).  Secret Millionaire at 8:00 turned in the identical 1.1 rating, while Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition averaged a 1.2 from 9-11 pm.

CBS averaged a fourth-place 0.8 rating from 7-11 pm.  60 Minutes was the high point of the night for the network (1.1 at 7:00), while repeat dramas fell below the 1-rating line: Hawaii Five-O (0.7 at 8:00), The Good Wife (0.5 at 9:00) and The Mentalist (0.7 at 10:00).

NBC has a big night planned for tonight, with a half hour of live Olympic Trials coverage at 8:00 and the first live episode of the season for America’s Got Talent from 8:30-11:00.  The Olympic Trials coverage will mostly be swimming, but a run-off to determine the third spot on the women’s 100 meter team is also scheduled at the top of the hour.  The track and field powers that be actually came to their senses and decided not to use a coin flip to break the tie from last week’s “final”.  However, one of the runners is considering conceding the race, against what must be enormous pressure from the sport’s federation, sponsors, agents, coaches, trainers, advertisers and at least one television network.