Cable network OLN achieved its highest ratings ever this past Sunday for the last day of its "Tour de France" coverage. The three-week race built on the interest in Lance Armstrong--who captured
his seventh Tour de France victory--as well as the fact that this was to be his last professional bike race before retiring from the sport. OLN hit a Nielsen Media Research 2.08 household
rating, averaging 1.7 million viewers. Following the race, the network debuted reruns of the reality series "Survivor." The first episode was a commercial-free airing and hit a 0.92 household
rating, the highest rating for a non-Tour de France program in the network's history.
--Wayne Friedman