Posted: July 7, 2004

Athletics: 14 hours of Olympic Trials broadcasts to begin Friday

SACRAMENTO – USA Track & Field’s summer of TV broadcasts continues when live coverage of the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials kicks off Friday, July 9.

Coming at the conclusion of USATF’s 2004 Outdoor Golden Spike Tour, the Olympic Trials will feature 14 hours of live coverage on NBC and the USA network, during all eight days of competition from Sacramento, Calif. Coverage begins Friday at 11 p.m. Eastern Time on USA. Highlights of the first weekend of competition include the men’s and women’s 100 meters, men’s shot put pole vault and 10,000 meters, and women’s high jump, 800m and 5,000m.

Ratings continue upward trend

USATF’s broadcasts of the Golden Spike Tour in 2004 continued to show increases, while faring well in the ratings. A 10-meet series of elite, domestic track & field events, the Golden Spike Tour is part of an upward tick in the number of broadcasts of national and international meets in the United States. In 2004 alone, track & field will be broadcast nationally 30 times, totaling 40 hours, for all shows not inclusive of NBC’s Olympic coverage.

The live, May 22 NBC broadcast of the Home Depot Invitational drew an overnight rating of 1.8 to show a six-fold ratings increase over 2003. With its lead-in program on NBC yielding only a 1.0 rating, the Home Depot Invitational broadcast topped out with a 2.2 rating for the final half-hour of the two-hour show as Maurice Greene took the track in the 100 meters.

It was just the beginning of a summer of track & field on the television airwaves, including the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, 2004 Olympic Track & Field Trials, and IAAF Golden League.

Strong trends for track & field

During the indoor season, track & field programming increased ESPN2 ratings significantly, on average, over the programming that preceded it.  Motor sports such as auto racing, or college basketball typically ran immediately before the GST broadcasts, and the Golden Spike Tour meets increased the ratings for ESPN2 by 38.5% over those shows.  The shows that followed the Golden Spike Tour meets, primarily NHL games, lost 24% of the ratings achieved by the Golden Spike Tour meets.

Two of the biggest shows of the Golden Spike Tour, also on NBC earlier this year, illustrated how USATF television shows continue their upward ratings trend. The 2004 ratings for USA vs. The World at the Penn Relays increased by 15.4 percent over 2003, while the 2004 Verizon Millrose Games saw a ratings increase of 7.7 percent.

USATF broadcasts aren’t alone in drawing more viewer interest. The NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships, shown tape-delayed in March, had a three-fold increase in ratings and drew 136% more households than in 2003.

More ahead

In addition to the Golden Spike Tour, USA Track & Field has taken a lead role in bringing track & field broadcasts to American networks. Through the efforts of USATF, IAAF Golden League coverage once again are being shown on U.S. television.  This season, the regional affiliates of Fox Sports Net are showing all six Golden League meetings.  Telecast times are determined by each regional network. 

Below is a schedule of outdoor track & field broadcasts, not including the Olympic Games on NBC. All times Eastern. Check local listings.

2004 Outdoor Track & Field TV Schedule, by event

		U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials
	July 9          	11 p.m.-1 a.m.	USA
	July 10         	8-9 p.m. 		NBC 
     	July 11          7-8 p.m. 		NBC
      	July 12         	10 p.m.-1 a.m. 	USA
	July 15         	10 p.m.-Midnight 	USA
	July 16         	11 p.m.-1 a.m. 	USA
	July 17         	5-6 p.m. 		NBC 
	July 18         	7-9 p.m. 		NBC

IAAF Golden League Broadcasts
Bislett Games (Bergen, NOR)	June 12-13	TBD	Fox Sports Net
Golden Gala (Rome, ITA)		July 3-4	TBD	Fox Sports Net
Gaz de France (Paris, FRA)	July 31-Aug. 1	TBD	Fox Sports Net
Weltklasse Zurich (Zurich, SUI)	Aug. 7-8	TBD	Fox Sports Net
Van Damme (Brussels, BEL)	Sept. 11-12	TBD	Fox Sports Net
ISTAF 2004 (Berlin, GER)	Sept. 18-19	TBD	Fox Sports Net

USA Track & Field Outdoor Golden Spike Tour
USA vs. The World	Apr. 24	4:30 - 6 p.m. 	NBC
Home Depot Invitational	May 22	4-6 p.m. 	NBC
Payton Jordan U.S. Open	June 1	9-10 p.m.	ESPN2
Jul. 30	3-4 a.m.	ESPN
adidas Oregon Track Classic	Jun. 5	6-7 p.m.	ESPN2
Jul. 31	3-4 a.m.	ESPN
Nike Prefontaine Classic	June 19	9:30-11 p.m.	ESPN2
	Jul. 31	4-5:30 a.m.	ESPN

NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships
	June 19	4-6 p.m.	CBS

2004 Track & Field TV broadcast schedule, by date

adidas Boston Indoor Games 	Jan. 31 	6-7 p.m. 	ESPN2 
Verizon Millrose Games 	Feb. 7 	3-4:30 p.m.	NBC 
Tyson Foods Invitational 	Feb. 14 	9-10:30 p.m. 	ESPN2 
Verizon Millrose Games 	Feb. 22	9-10:30 a.m.	YES
USA Indoor Track & Field Champs 	Feb. 28	6:30 - 7:30 p.m	ESPN2
USA Indoor Track & Field Champs	Feb. 29. 	6-7 p.m.	ESPN2
NCAA Indoor Track & Field Champs	March 17	3:30-5 p.m.
ESPN2
USA vs. The World	Apr. 24	4:30 - 6 p.m. 	NBC
Home Depot Invitational	May 22	4-6 p.m. 	NBC
Payton Jordan U.S. Open		June 1	9-10 p.m.	ESPN2
adidas Oregon Track Classic		June. 5	6-7 p.m.	ESPN2
Bislett Games (Bergen, NOR)	June 12-13	TBD	Fox Sports Net
Nike Prefontaine Classic	June 19	9:30-11 p.m.	ESPN2
NCAA Championships	June 19	4 p.m.	CBS		
Golden Gala (Rome, ITA)	July 3-4	 TBD	Fox Sports Net
U.S. Olympic T&F Trials	July 9          	11 p.m.-1 a.m.	USA
U.S. Olympic T&F Trials	July 10         	8-9 p.m. 	NBC 
U.S. Olympic T&F Trials 	July 11          	7-8 p.m. 	NBC
U.S. Olympic T&F Trials 	July 12         	10 p.m.-1 a.m. 	USA
U.S. Olympic T&F Trials 	July 15         	10 p.m.-Midnight
USA
U.S. Olympic T&F Trials 	July 16         	11 p.m.-1 a.m. 	USA
U.S. Olympic T&F Trials 	July 17         	5-6 p.m. 	NBC 
U.S. Olympic T&F Trials 	July 18         	7-9 p.m. 	NBC
Gaz de France (Paris, FRA)		July 31-Aug. 1	TBD	Fox Sports
Net
Payton Jordan U.S. Open		Jul. 30	3-4 a.m.	ESPN
adidas Oregon Track Classic		Jul. 31	3-4 a.m.	ESPN
Nike Prefontaine Classic	Jul. 31	4-5:30 a.m.	ESPN
Weltklasse Zurich (Zurich, SUI)		Aug. 7-8	TBD	Fox Sports
Net
Van Damme (Brussels, BEL)	Sept. 11-12	TBD	Fox Sports Net
ISTAF 2004 (Berlin, GER)	Sept. 18-19	TBD	Fox Sports Net

For a full listing of NBC Olympic broadcasts, visit www.nbc.com.