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NBC is giving advertisers who bought airtime during the Tokyo Olympics additional ads due to the disappointing ratings for this year’s 2020 Olympics, fueled by a population weary of the pandemic and backlash against them. athletes woken up protesting the American flag and the national anthem.
NBC Sports president Pete Bevacqua insisted to The Associated Press that the network would still make money from the 2020 Olympics – but failed to specify how much.
Prime-time coverage of the Tokyo Olympics on July 26 attracted an average of 14.7 million viewers, down 49% from the equivalent night of the Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016 and 53% less than the London Olympics in 2012. The Opening Ceremonies had their smallest audience since 1988.
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American Megan Rapinoe kneels before the bronze medal soccer match against Australia at the 2020 Summer Olympics on Thursday, August 5, 2021, in Kashima, Japan. (AP Photo / Fernando Vergara)
Variety TV editor-in-chief Brian Steinberg wrote that the drop had boosted “advertiser anxiety” which was not alleviated by news that legendary American gymnast Simone Biles had withdrawn from the competition by team and fan favorite Naomi Osaka was knocked out of the tennis medal competition.
He quoted a media buying executive who said early audience numbers “clearly aren’t what NBC, our agency, or our clients have been looking for” from a costly investment.
“When you look at the numbers, it’s hard to be happy with them,” Andy Billings, director of the University of Alabama’s sports communications program, told the AP. “It’s probably NBC’s worst case, but it’s probably the worst case they could have predicted months ago.”
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Audiences were about half behind coverage of Rio on many nights of this year’s competition.
EUGENE, OREGON – JUNE 26: Gwendolyn Berry celebrates her third place finish in the Women’s Hammer Throw Final on Day 9 of the 2020 U.S. Olympic Track & Team Field Trials at Hayward Field on June 26, 2021 in Eugene, Oregon. (Photo by Patrick Smith / Getty Images)
(Patrick Smith / Getty Images)
And the awakened protests by American athletes condemning the American or national anthem have done little to attract new viewers while alienating Republican viewers, according to Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute in New Jersey. The lingering effects of the coronavirus pandemic have also taken their toll.
Last week, the university released a poll that found that a third fewer Americans were interested in watching the games – a whopping 43% of respondents said they had little interest in watching compared only 16% who had a lot.
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And while 55% of Americans thought it was a good idea to hold the 2020 Games postponed this year, 36% said it wasn’t.
“The Olympic spirit is a bit cooled this year,” said Murray. “Last year’s delay and lack of spectators dampened the typical anticipation and excitement of this event. But the emergence of Black Lives Matter in the sports world has also caused a backlash among some Americans.”
American Kevin Durant (7) celebrates his victory in the men’s basketball gold medal match against France at the 2020 Summer Olympics on Saturday August 7, 2021, in Saitama, Japan. (AP Photo / Charlie Neibergall)
Not all the athletes protested against the flag. The awakened women’s soccer team had to settle for bronze last week, but the United States men’s basketball team took gold and star Kevin Durant mocked media criticism by saying for someone to “act like you are American”.
And American wrestler Tamyra Mensah-Stock wrapped herself in the flag and said “I love representing the United States, I love living here”, after becoming the first black American wrestler to win Olympic gold.
But images of other athletes protesting the flag and the anthem have not helped bring back insane viewers.
Tamyra Marianna Stock Mensah of America celebrates her gold medal victory over Nigeria’s Blessing Oborududu in their women’s 68kg freestyle final match of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Makuhari Messe in Tokyo on August 3, 2021. ( Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP via Getty Images)
(Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP via Getty Images)
Just over half of Republicans who said they were not interested cited the political protests, and the same percentage of Democrats blamed the effects of the pandemic – smaller crowds and less competition.
And the university also cited independents as opposing the protests.
“The people we sent do not represent the country,” a man from Maryland, identified as independent in his 40s, told polls. “They are on their knees in front of the flag.”
He wasn’t the only one feeling that way.
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“I don’t want to see virtue signal,” said a 45-year-old New Jersey woman, also independent. “Be a proud American.”
The decline in the number of viewers does not say the whole story: more and more people are watching online and through streaming platforms, where advertising revenues are significantly lower.
Brian Flood of Fox News and Associated Press contributed to this report.
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