The Beijing Winter Olympic Games attracted the smallest audience, an average of 11.4 million prime-time viewers, since NBCUniversal (NBCU) began broadcasting the event decades ago,
The Wall Street Journal reports.
42% Decline
This was a 42% decline from 2018's Pyeongchang Olympics, which at the time was the least-viewed Olympics. By comparison, the Super Bowl attracted 112 million viewers for NBC.
To make up for the shortfall, NBCU gave advertisers additional commercial air time during the games, which were broadcast over NBCUniversal television, cable and streaming platforms over their two-plus week duration.
NBC Sports Chairman Pete Bevacqua attributed the lack of interest in the games to "very harsh" COVID-19 protocols in China. Few spectators could be seen in the stands, and some of the Olympics athletes wore protective masks. In light of the pandemic, which originated in China,
advertisers this year chose to lay low, sidestepping cultural or social issues.
NBC Sports did not send its announcing team of 1,600 reporters and editors to China; they covered the games from their Stamford, Conn., offices. The network did have 600 staff on the ground in Beijing, however.
$1.3 Billion Investment
One bright spot for the network for its Olympics coverage was reception to its two-year-old streaming service, Peacock. NBCU said Peacock streamed all 4.3 billion minutes of the entire Olympics.
"For Peacock, it was a home run," Bevacqua said.
NBCU is investing $1.3 billion per Olympics to continue to broadcast the games in the United States through 2032.
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