Source: Zero Hedge
It looks like yet another instance of “get woke, go broke” for NBC and the Tokyo Olympics.
Ratings for the Olympics have been so poor this year that NBC is being forced to hand out “extra commercials” for those who bought advertising during the games, according to Fox News.
Experts have pointed to backlash over protesting the U.S. flag and “woke” athletes as the key reason why ratings are down.
The ratings dropoff is stunning. Per Fox News:
NBC’s primetime coverage of the Tokyo Olympics on July 26 averaged 14.7 million viewers — for a 49% drop compared to the equivalent night from the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games and 53% less than the 2012 London Olympics. The opening ceremonies saw their lowest viewership since 1988.
The plunge in ratings has caused “advertiser anxiety” from companies who feel as though they aren’t getting enough bang for their marketing buck. The early exits of gymnast Simone Biles and tennis player Naomi Osaka didn’t help rating, the report wrote.
One media exec said the ratings “clearly are not what NBC, our agency or our clients were looking for”.
Andy Billings, director of the sports communications program at the University of Alabama commented: “When you look at the numbers, it’s hard to be pleased with them. It’s probably NBC’s worst-case scenario, but it’s probably a worst-case scenario that they would have been able to predict months ago.”
The protests of the flag “have done little to attract new viewers while alienating Republican spectators,” Fox News wrote.
Monmouth University polling found last week that 33% less American viewers were interested in the games.
Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute, concluded: “The delay from last year and lack of spectators have taken the edge off the typical anticipation and excitement for this event. But the emergence of Black Lives Matter in the sports world has also led to a backlash among some Americans.”
