The American television ratings are in from the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games.
They’re not good.
During the Beijing Olympics, an average of 11.4 million people watched each night on NBC Universal’s different platforms. That figure represents the smallest prime-time ratings ever for the Olympic Games. It is also down almost nine million viewers compared to the PyeongChang Games in 2018.
Through the two-week coverage, the Olympics drew more than 160 million total viewers across NBC’s various platforms.
By comparison, the Super Bowl on February 13 drew 112 million viewers, or 70 percent of the total viewers who watched the Winter Games over the course of more than two weeks.
Many of the Olympics’ story lines were focused on dramatic moments, but few of them were well-received by the American TV audience that saw empty stadiums, and COVID-19 restrictions all against a backdrop of Chinese oppression.
“The Olympics brand is really struggling. A lot of people don’t feel that emotional connection anymore,” said Tang Tang, a media professor at Kent State University who has studied the Olympics, to the New York Times.
Hopeful storylines like Mikaela Shiffrin, the American skier who was looking to become the most decorated American Alpine skier in Winter Olympic history, fell flat as she failed to medal in six attempts in Beijing.
Or Kamila Valieva, the 15-year-old Russian figure skating star, whose breathtaking talents were marred in drug controversy, controversial rulings and ridicule.
“Audiences watch the Olympics for the stories. They need that superhero story, that star quality,” Professor Tang said. “They don’t really see the Olympics as a true sporting event, but rather as something more personal.”
The time difference between New York and Beijing, made it hard for NBC Universal to deliver events ‘as live’ due to the 13-hour time difference - as results were known in the early morning, well before prime-time U.S. broadcasts.
Leading up to the Games the controversial news out of China didn’t help either, as concerns about the welfare of Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai also dominated the news cycle. During the Games the Chinese state tried to downplay the political overtones of events through the use of bots and fake accounts on social media.
Failed athletic feats, large time differences and geopolitical maneuverings all led to a subpar reception from the U.S. viewership.
NBC executives have not commented on the final ratings report from Beijing.
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