Editorial

The TV Ratings For The Opening Weekend Of The Olympics Tank

(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

David Hookstead Sports And Entertainment Editor
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The TV ratings for the first weekend of the Olympics were down significantly from 2016.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the events averaged 15.8 million viewers on NBC, NBC’s cable channels and streaming platforms from Friday through Sunday for the opening weekend of the games. (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)

In 2016, the first few days of games averaged an impressive 27.27 million viewers across all platforms. So, ratings are down more than 40% from just five years ago.

On top of the ratings for the opening weekend being down, ratings for the opening ceremony also hit a 33-year low.

All the way around, it was a bloodbath for NBC.

There are probably a lot of reasons for why the ratings are down, and it’s going to be impossible to figure them all out right now.

Having said, it’s pretty easy to speculate about a few right off the top of my head. People are finally outside doing things after more than a year of being locked down, nobody is taking the games too seriously and woke athletes are also playing a part in driving fans away.

Which factor is having the biggest impact? I’m not sure, but I’m confident all three are playing a role. As I said about the opening ceremony, if Japan isn’t really taking the games too seriously with their cardboard beds, then it’s not hard to understand why some fans might not.

We’ll see if the ratings bounce back, but I’m definitely not holding my breath.