From NYpost.com…
NBC Universal saw record-low ratings throughout the 2020 Olympic Games, forcing them to give advertisers extra airtime to make up for the loss.
Since the Olympics’ opening ceremony on July 23, a fraction of the audience that tuned in for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games returned for the Tokyo contests and viewership remained low throughout the 17 days of competition.
Last Sunday, NBC’s primetime audience was down 51 percent from the 26.7 million viewers who watched the Rio Games in 2016 and during the first week of contests, typically the most-watched, ratings were down by nearly 60 percent most nights, according to Nielsen.
NBC has been hustling to schedule “make goods,” or extra commercial time for jilted advertisers, following the low ratings.
Pete Bevacqua, NBC Sports chairman, acknowledged the 2020 Games were “different” and he expected about 99 percent of the ad obligations to be wrapped up by Sunday night.
“They are different, and we have never shied away from that,” said Bevacqua of the Tokyo Games.
