Posted on 02/20/2022 5:11:59 AM PST by Oldeconomybuyer
NEW YORK (AP) — There were many reasons to think NBC made a savvy business deal in 2014 when it locked up the American media rights to the Olympics through 2032 for $7.75 billion.
As the Beijing winter games come to a close, it’s harder to see them now.
These Olympics were a disaster for the network: a buzz-free, hermetically-sealed event in an authoritarian country a half-day’s time zone away, where the enduring images will be the emotional meltdown of Russian teen-agers after a drug-tainted figure skating competition and a bereft Mikaela Shiffrin, sitting on a ski slope wondering what went wrong.
Many American athletes underperformed, and arguably the most successful — freestyle skier Eileen Gu — competed for China.
Viewers stayed away in alarming numbers, and NBC has to wonder whether it was extraordinarily bad luck or if the brand of a once-unifying event for tens of millions of people is permanently tainted.
Through Tuesday, an average of 12.2 million people watched the Olympics in prime-time on NBC, cable or the Peacock streaming service, down 42 percent from the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea. The average for NBC alone was 10 million, a 47 percent drop, the Nielsen company said.
NBC has not yet said whether the Beijing games turned a profit or lost money.
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...
The curling coverage on USA network was not bad. On CNBC there were so many commercials you lost the rythm of the match.
Even the talking heads at Fox news yesterday were perplexed as to why the Olympic television ratings were way down. People aren’t as stupid as the news orgs.
WE ALL KNOW CHINA CREATED THE VIRUS AND FOISTED IT UPON THE WORLD.
DUH!
Yes he was great.
It doesn’t hurt for me that he loved the horses - he had his own operation here too. Always love having him on racing broadcasts. Along with Al Michaels (also solid on horses)!
So glad I can have those memories - ABC super team Michaels and McKay on Olympics AND horse-racing. The things I loved most.
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