The Beijing Olympic Games helped raise the rating of Romania's national channel TVR 1 in urban areas from August 8 to August 21, the local daily Business Standard reported on Tuesday.

TVR 1 got an average viewership of 0.7 percent in terms of viewers in urban areas this July. But in the first three weeks of August, the channel got an average rating of 1 percent.

The figure did not include the last three days of the Olympics or the closing ceremony, which could raise the rating higher.

Liviu Boitan, research and strategy coordinator of MediaCom Romania advertising agency, estimated that public TV could earn 1.5 million euros (US$2.2 million) from advertising during the live broadcast of the Beijing Olympic Games.

The Romanian national TV transmitted over 320 hours of live coverage during the Olympics through its two channels, TVR 1 and TVR 2.

(Xinhua News Agency August 27, 2008)