Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 3, 1994 TAG: 9403030116
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C6 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"On a household basis, 92.5 percent of all American households tuned in," said David Poltrack, CBS vice president for research. "That is also the highest-rated cumulative audience of any event in television history."
The Lillehammer Games posted the highest average rating, a 27.8, of any Olympics, winter or summer. A ratings point equals 942,000 homes of the 94.2 million TV households in the United States.
CBS' ratings will equal the combined ratings of ABC and NBC for the monthlong February sweep - one of three annual periods of audience measurement that allows affiliates to set local ad rates.
\ In Milton Keynes, England, tired of the pressure and frustrated with the judges, ice dancers Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean retired from competitive skating.
The British couple, who won the gold medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, made the announcement after finishing third in their Olympic comeback at Lillehammer.
The decision means the pair will not go through with their original plans to try for a fifth world title at this month's championships in Japan.
Dean said the the pair will now concentrate on a fund-raising event for Sarajevo, to be followed by another professional tour.
Torvill, 36, and Dean, 35, turned pro after winning the 1984 Olympic title with their mesmerizing "Bolero" routine. They continued to compete in professional championships, and were reinstated as amateurs for this year's Olympics and World Championships under a new International Skating Union rule.
Memo: shorter version ran in the Metro edition.