Olympic Viewership is Tanking

[GOHOX69]

Is it because of streaming platforms? Traditional tv dead?

NBC's Summer Olympics ratings are in free-fall

After pandemic-fueled delays last year, the Tokyo Olympics have gotten a lot of attention around this summer. Unfortunately for NBC, that attention has not translated to viewership.

www.cnn.com

 

[SSG T]

Part of it has to be because NBC is trying to show everything but their scheduling sucks. There have been many times I've tuned into the channel/time that thier guide said something was on, and it was never shown...it was on a different channel or at a different time.

When the guide on their site doesn't match the listing on the TV, and neither line up with what is actually being broadcast, people will get fed up.

The only consistency has been basketball. It's late at night on Peacock.

 

[SSG T]

I guess I'd also add, people giving live updates on social media at midnight, then the event being shown the next night at 7pm when we already know the results, doesn't help either.

This is really the 1st Olympics with both widespread social media and the Games being in that different of a time zone. I imagine Beijing would have been similar if Twitter/IG had been around in 2008.

 

[rolfey]

My biggest issue with the network coverage is the constant commercials. Every 4 minutes they take commercial breaks. Not sure if that happens on the Peacock server or not.

 

[EpenesaEpenesa]

Idk. Personally I have zero interest in it and typically love the summer games. Sounds like I’m not alone

 

[BioHawk]

I guess I'd also add, people giving live updates on social media at midnight, then the event being shown the next night at 7pm when we already know the results, doesn't help either.

This is really the 1st Olympics with both widespread social media and the Games being in that different of a time zone. I imagine Beijing would have been similar if Twitter/IG had been around in 2008.

Social media has been around since the 2008 Olympics, internet has been around longer. I'd like to blame the time difference, and that is part of it, but I the scheduling issues you pointed out are far greater. I know I've been frustrated by them airing things that aren't on the guide. It's even more frustrating because since most of this is tape delayed there is no reason to not match what the guide says.

I think that people have just been too busy with things close to home to worry about it. I think that the USOC's inability to effectively address the sex abuse stuff has reduced interest in the teams and I think the injection of politics in many sports has as well. Hell, I agree with many of things the athletes are upset about but as Michael Jordan said, "Republicans buy shoes too". Granted, there are other factors that have amplified this, but it hasn't helped viewership.

For me, personally, I haven't watched them as much simply because I haven't had time. I've been vacationing and doing a lot of other summer things that taken me away from the TV. Maybe after 18 months of being extremely limited in what we could do, people are just less interested in sitting in their living room watching TV.

 

[SeaPA]

I've always loved the Olympics, dating back to when I was a kid in the 70s. I have watched far less than I normally do. A big reason is the time difference, combined with the easily available (and impossible to ignore) information as to who won the event. It's just not the same watching a game/competition that took place i to 10 hours earlier, having already read who actually won.

 

[SalAunese]

I find the winter games to be more enjoyable plus the production sucks. Easy to stream but just non stop commercials. The time difference and social media is a huge factor as well

 

[Formerly Rockymtnole]

My biggest issue with the network coverage is the constant commercials. Every 4 minutes they take commercial breaks. Not sure if that happens on the Peacock server or not.

Every single time I drop in it’s in the middle of commercials. I have no patience for that so I quickly exit.
Other than the USWNT I’ve only watched 10-15 minutes.

 

[SSG T]

Social media has been around since the 2008 Olympics, internet has been around longer. I'd like to blame the time difference, and that is part of it, but I the scheduling issues you pointed out are far greater. I know I've been frustrated by them airing things that aren't on the guide. It's even more frustrating because since most of this is tape delayed there is no reason to not match what the guide says.

I think that people have just been too busy with things close to home to worry about it. I think that the USOC's inability to effectively address the sex abuse stuff has reduced interest in the teams and I think the injection of politics in many sports has as well. Hell, I agree with many of things the athletes are upset about but as Michael Jordan said, "Republicans buy shoes too". Granted, there are other factors that have amplified this, but it hasn't helped viewership.

For me, personally, I haven't watched them as much simply because I haven't had time. I've been vacationing and doing a lot of other summer things that taken me away from the TV. Maybe after 18 months of being extremely limited in what we could do, people are just less interested in sitting in their living room watching TV.

A lot of us were on here, but I don't think people in general had the same awareness or access to social media in 2008. It definitely wasn't ingrained in the culture the way it is now.

Now, I don't think it's the major reason. But time difference plus social media has played a role.

 

[BC Hawk]

Time zones make it difficult to watch. 2028 will be much better.

 

[bhawk24bob]

You’ve got a population that has been sitting home binge watching things for over a year without commercials

I hope some of our professional sports leagues are taking notice of what happens

 

[JRHawk2003]

I am not getting Peacock just so I can watch US Mens Hoops. Sorry...ain't happening.

I already have 3 streaming services and I cant watch much of that as it is.

 

[SSG T]

Time zones make it difficult to watch. 2028 will be much better.

Paris will be much better too. In London 2012, you could still watch a lot of events live during the day. Not everything, but from around 9 to 3, pretty much every televised event was live.

 

[anon_b29nm7v7dwp6r]

I am not getting Peacock just so I can watch US Mens Hoops. Sorry...ain't happening.

I already have 3 streaming services and I cant watch much of that as it is.

This. First mens national bball game I woke up early to watch….was shocked to not be able to find it….then was informed that I had to buy peacock….take a hike….haven’t watched much since

 

[Tenacious E]

Idk. Personally I have zero interest in it and typically love the summer games. Sounds like I’m not alone

I'm not at zero, but I'd say my interest level is a 5 out of 100. I have not watched it yet. If basketball makes the gold medal game I will watch that. Otherwise I just don't really care.

 

[BelemNole]

I've been watching a lot, but with most of it happening live overnight or in the early morning I can understand why people are just checking twitter, etc.

 

[tarheelbybirth]

I set Youtube tv to record the stuff I'm interested in (track and field, swimming, gymnastics, boxing, etc) and watch whenever I have a little time to kill. I suppose I would count as someone not watching even though I am.

 

[onlyTheObvious]

It’s those god damn bitching women on the soccer team!!!!!!

Jk

I watch some every night before I go to bed. Would like to see more odd stuff at night instead of non stop swimming, gymnastics, and track.

maybe scroll on bottom of screen what exactly is being broadcast on the alternate channels. My on screen guide seems to be wrong a high percentage of the time.

 

[ping72]

I wish it were easier to watch. I would like to see some of the wrestling from last night or the USA/Australia b-ball game. But I have no clue when/where to watch.

 

[IAHawk2011]

I am not getting Peacock just so I can watch US Mens Hoops. Sorry...ain't happening.

I already have 3 streaming services and I cant watch much of that as it is.

You can watch for free on the NBC Sports App if you have YoutubeTV or other similar streaming services.

 

[Old_wrestling_fan]

I have watched some, but just a fraction of what I used to watch during Oly times. As others have said...several factors combine to lessen my interest these days. Wacky schedule, the continued political inroads into sports contests, Oly corruption and graft, etc.

But really...the biggest turn off to me is that the Oly committee was preparing to eliminate wrestling about 10 years ago. I know they later reinstated it and that the US has a pretty strong contingent of wrestlers competing this year too...but if there is room for all of the frilly sports these days and not wrestling??? Ye gods...I'll turn my attention to something else.

 

[GOHOX69]

I'll watch women's beach volleyball even if it is at 4:45 am and it is jammed with ads. Mike Tirico on the other hand could stand to lose about three fiddy pounds--fat.

 

[BubsFinn]

Peacock can lick my nads. I swore a long time ago to never give Comcast another red cent. They are the reason I still have AT&T U-verse.

 

[silasstarr]

My biggest issue with the network coverage is the constant commercials. Every 4 minutes they take commercial breaks. Not sure if that happens on the Peacock server or not.

I watched some last night on Youtube TV. You are absolutely correct. The commercial load was over the top. I watched a little of climbing events and there would be 3-5 minutes of the events with 2 minutes of commercials. If I couldn't FF, it would have been unbearable.

 

[BelemNole]

I'll watch women's beach volleyball even if it is at 4:45 am and it is jammed with ads. Mike Tirico on the other hand could stand to lose about three fiddy pounds--fat.

The Latvian team seems very talented.

 

[z_ape]

Is it because of streaming platforms? Traditional tv dead?

NBC's Summer Olympics ratings are in free-fall

After pandemic-fueled delays last year, the Tokyo Olympics have gotten a lot of attention around this summer. Unfortunately for NBC, that attention has not translated to viewership.

www.cnn.com

I never got into the flow with it. I'd hear stuff during the day, catch videos late... for me, I blame the internet basically. I've had a hard time avoiding information that invalidates the need to watch on TV. Plus, I'm not in the habit of watching TV at all. I think that's the part of it for many people.

That said, I miss how it used to be.

 

[seminole97]

Part of it has to be because NBC is trying to show everything but their scheduling sucks. There have been many times I've tuned into the channel/time that thier guide said something was on, and it was never shown...it was on a different channel or at a different time.

When the guide on their site doesn't match the listing on the TV, and neither line up with what is actually being broadcast, people will get fed up.

The only consistency has been basketball. It's late at night on Peacock.

Yeah, combination of putting popular things on a subscription channel and not being clear about what is coming next (e.g. the announcement that 8PM would be the medal round of shotput, and that didn't really start until after 10PM).

I'm disappointed YouTubeTV didn't find a better way to sort this programming too.

In a perfect world they'd put everything they're recording on a streaming platform and you could just search '100m sprint' or 'skateboarding', or 'hobby horse' or whatever the hell competitions they have these days and enjoy.

They're still stuck in the 'programming' mindset from 50 years ago.

 

[StormHawk42]

Time zone I think is a killer. But all the other reasons stated so far are valid.

 

[GOHOX69]

Ninety nine percent are pseudo inspirational ads for Toyota and Eli Lily. First time was good, eighteen thousandth time not so good.

 

[On Iowa]

Peacock can lick my nads. I swore a long time ago to never give Comcast another red cent. They are the reason I still have AT&T U-verse.

It's free.

 

[On Iowa]

I live and die by the Olympics mix channel. Shows all the active channels live so you can see what's going on real time. WAY better than the shitty ass guide.

 

[Nole Lou]

Part of it has to be because NBC is trying to show everything but their scheduling sucks. There have been many times I've tuned into the channel/time that thier guide said something was on, and it was never shown...it was on a different channel or at a different time.

When the guide on their site doesn't match the listing on the TV, and neither line up with what is actually being broadcast, people will get fed up.

The only consistency has been basketball. It's late at night on Peacock.

This 1000x.

I barely give a crap about the Olympics, but my wife and son like it, so I've been watching a little bit. I don't think I watched 5 minutes of Rio, but I've been watching a fair amount.

But the scheduling/labeling is straight ass on the Roku app. It's only accurate to what's showing on each feed about 10% of the time, and every time I try to tune in I have to watch 2-3 minutes of commercials first just to find out that what was labelled is some other event entirely or totally over. Eventually you're at 10 minutes of commercials and you haven't seen a damn minute of something you were trying to watch.

I know it's a big event, but they've got to have a better way to do it. Even the replay situation sucks, because I'll tune into a replay, and it will be like a four hour block, which is difficult and tedious to scrub through.

I'd also like a way from a scheduling and replay perspective to be able to lock in on USA teams. There are some things I somewhat like watching no matter who is participating, like track and field, but there are a lot of things that I'm not really interested but would tune in if it was the U.S., like volleyball (not beach volleyball) or water polo.

Would also like in the combat type sports to have a replay each day to see all the U.S. competitors' matches in wrestling, boxing, judo, whatever in one replay feed.

 

[ghost80]

I'll watch women's beach volleyball even if it is at 4:45 am and it is jammed with ads. Mike Tirico on the other hand could stand to lose about three fiddy pounds--fat.

The biggest thing I like about Olympic coverage is the close up shots of the front girl giving signals to the back. There have been some very nice ass shots as they play with their fingers by their buttcrack.

 

[JupiterHawk]

Biles dropping out did not help them at all. She was getting the Phelps hype before the games started.

 

[FormerlyCyberCy]

The Latvian team seems very talented.

Rules!

 

[rolfey]

Was very disappointed NBC did not show this video. They showed a highlight of her winning but failed to show the interview. What a great moment.

 

[alaskanseminole]

A lot of us were on here, but I don't think people in general had the same awareness or access to social media in 2008. It definitely wasn't ingrained in the culture the way it is now.

Now, I don't think it's the major reason. But time difference plus social media has played a role.

Social media in 2008 was MySpace and the dawn of FB...we were still connecting with old schoolmates, childhood friends and old flames.

Now that it's been weaponized, it's an entirely new ball game.

 

[alaskanseminole]

Was very disappointed NBC did not show this video. They showed a highlight of her winning but failed to show the interview. What a great moment.

View embedded media

Wait! That doesn't fit the narrative. She should be banned from the country!

 

[SSG T]

Was very disappointed NBC did not show this video. They showed a highlight of her winning but failed to show the interview. What a great moment.

View embedded media

The interview was televised.