U.S. ratings for Tokyo Olympics plunge to half of 2012 Games

LOS ANGELES, Aug 9 (Reuters) – U.S. viewership for the Summer time Olympics in Tokyo, a contest clouded by the COVID-19 pandemic, dropped to about half the viewers for the London Video games in 2012, in keeping with information launched by Comcast Corp’s (CMCSA.O) NBCUniversal on Monday.

The 17-day occasion averaged 15.5 million primetime viewers on the NBC broadcast community and digital platforms together with the Peacock streaming service, the corporate mentioned in a press release. That represented the smallest viewers for the Summer time Video games since NBC started broadcasting them in 1988.

The overall slumped beneath the 31.1 million viewers who watched the Summer time Olympics in London by way of TV and on-line retailers, and 26.7 million who tuned in for the 2016 Video games in Rio de Janeiro, an NBC spokesman mentioned.

Comparisons with earlier Olympic Video games are imperfect given the completely different instances zones, the pandemic and fewer streaming choices up to now. The Tokyo occasions, delayed a yr because of the international well being disaster, have been held with out spectators and provided much less of the standard spectacle.

Executives at NBCUniversal have mentioned they anticipate to show a revenue regardless of the scores declines. The competitions nonetheless pulled within the greatest audiences on tv after they aired, making them engaging showcases for advertisers.

“There may be nothing extra highly effective in media than the 17 straight days of Olympics dominance,” NBC Sports activities Chairman Pete Bevacqua mentioned in a press release. “Regardless of being thrown a sequence of curveballs over the past 18 months, the ability of the Olympics delivered to audiences throughout the assorted platforms of NBCU has confirmed itself unequaled.”

The corporate mentioned viewers streamed almost 6 billion minutes of Tokyo Olympics programming, a file for an Olympics, throughout NBC’s digital and social media platforms, the corporate mentioned.

NBCUniversal aired the Video games throughout two broadcast networks, six cable networks, and a number of digital platforms together with Peacock. That left some viewers confused and struggling to seek out the occasions they wished to look at.

Some high-profile athletes have been absent from main occasions. U.S. celebrity gymnast Simone Biles pulled out of 5 of her six occasions, citing issues for her psychological and bodily well being, and American sprinter Sha’Karri Richardson was disqualified after testing constructive for marijuana.

The TV scores drop displays a pattern amongst dwell occasions, together with Hollywood awards reveals and sports activities championships.

NBC owns the U.S. media rights to the Olympics by 2032. The subsequent video games, the Winter Olympics in Beijing, happen in February 2022.

Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Enhancing by Leslie Adler, Richard Pullin and Sonya Hepinstall

Our Requirements: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.