OLYMPIC TRIALS COVERAGE WINS RATINGS GOLD

NBC’s coverage of the Olympic Trials finally picked up steam over the weekend as it garnered first place in the ratings on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, according to Nielsen Research. In particular, Sunday’s coverage of women’s gymnastics, always a big draw, drew 9.87 million viewers. But the swimming trials also produced first-place wins for the network during their time periods on all three nights. Its coverage of the final night of women’s swimming tonight (Monday) is expected to draw solid numbers with much publicity and drama surrounding 45-year-old Dara Torres’s scheduled attempt to make her fifth Olympic team in the 50-meter Freestyle. On Saturday, the Olympic Trials crushed Fox’s Major League Baseball coverage which averaged a lowly 2.72 million viewers — total.