Experts have pointed to woke, anti-U.S. protests from American athletes as part of the lack of interest
NBC is giving advertisers who bought airtime during the Tokyo Olympics extra commercials due to underwhelming ratings for this year’s 2020 Olympic Games, fueled by a pandemic-weary population and backlash against woke athletes protesting the U.S. flag and national anthem.
NBC Sports Chairman Pete Bevacqua insisted to the Associated Press that the network would still make money on the 2020 Olympics – but left out details about how much.
NBC’s primetime coverage of the Tokyo Olympics on July 26 averaged 14.7 million viewers — for a 49% drop compared to the equivalent night from the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games and 53% less than the 2012 London Olympics. The opening ceremonies saw their lowest viewership since 1988.
Variety senior TV editor Brian Steinberg wrote that the drop has spurred “advertiser anxiety” which hasn’t been eased by the news that legendary American gymnast Simone Biles withdrew from team competition and fan favorite Naomi Osaka was eliminated from the tennis medal competition.
He quoted a media buying executive who said the early viewership numbers “clearly are not what NBC, our agency or our clients were looking for” from costly investment.
“When you look at the numbers, it’s hard to be pleased with them,” Andy Billings, director of the sports communications program at the University of Alabama, told the AP. “It’s probably NBC’s worst-case scenario, but it’s probably a worst-case scenario that they would have been able to predict months ago.”
Viewership has lagged behind the Rio coverage by roughly half on numerous nights of this year’s competition.
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