From FoxNews.com…
NBC’s primetime coverage of the Tokyo Olympics continued to spiral downward on Monday, averaging 14.7 million viewers for a 49 percent drop compared to the equivalent night from the 2016 Rio de Janeiro games.
Monday’s telecast also shed 53 percent of viewers from coverage of the first weeknight primetime during the 2012 London Olympics and declines were even larger among the advertiser-coveted demographic of adults aged 18-49.
Variety senior TV editor Brian Steinberg wrote that the drop has spurred “advertiser anxiety” which hasn’t been eased by the news that legendary American gymnast Simone Biles withdrew from team competition and fan favorite Naomi Osaka was eliminated from tennis medal competition.
Steinberg quoted a media buying executive who said the early viewership “clearly are not what NBC, our agency or our clients were looking for” from costly investment.
