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While the Winter Olympics may not have offered viewers much in terms of surprises, they've certainly provided ratings analysts with some gasp-worthy news: The daily coverage from Vancouver has allowed NBC, much like Lazarus, to rise from the dead (read: perpetual fourth place in network ratings) and steal third place for the first time since 2004.
According to
the Hollywood Reporter, the Peacock has been averaging 26 million viewers per Olympics telecast, gaining 12 percent season-to-date and unceremoniously dumping ABC into fourth position over the past 10 nights.
Is it a fluke? Maybe. THR is quick to point out that the Olympics are not necessarily a surefire launchpad for continued ratings stability. NBC's coverage of the 2008 Beijing Games, for example, failed to infuse its subsequent fall schedule with much pizazz, resulting in the cancellation of enthusiastically-hyped shows such as
'My Own Worst Enemy.' And after the NBC's recent mid-game fumble with
'The Tonight Show,' confidence in the Peacock is at an all-time-low, with every jaded journalist in the blogosphere waiting to see how the network plans to recover.
With that in mind, we've compiled a list of five ways for NBC to maintain its momentum after the Olympic flame goes out.