The Tokyo Olympics are off to a bad start.
The games have been mired in one controversy after another.
And the Olympics are a ratings disaster for one reason.
The United States is currently in second place with 14 overall medals and seven gold medals (also second) at the Tokyo Olympics, but nobody is watching.
With only 16.7 million viewers, NBC’s broadcast of the games is the lowest American audience in 33 years.
From Reuters:
“Friday’s audience reflects a steep drop, despite difficult comparisons with previous opening ceremonies when viewers had fewer streaming options…The Tokyo opener TV audience declined 37% from 2016, when 26.5 million people watched the Rio de Janeiro Games opener, and 59% from 2012, when 40.7 million people watched the London ceremony…It was the lowest audience for the opening ceremony since the 1988 Seoul Games, which attracted 22.7 million TV viewers. It was also lower than the 1992 Barcelona Games, when 21.6 million people tuned in, according to Nielsen data.”
Also, the opening ceremony only had a paltry 950 attendees because of the onerous COVID-19 restrictions.
The Tokyo games have been completely derailed by the coronavirus.
First, the Olympics was postponed a full year because of lockdowns and fears over the pandemic.
Many residents of Japan wanted the games canceled entirely; paranoia over the virus remains strong.
The stadium restrictions limiting attendance was the nail in the coffin.
From an American perspective, the Olympics have become controversial because of leftists protesting the flag for one reason or another.
The games were called “racist” because American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson was suspended for a positive marijuana test.
And hammer thrower Gwendolyn Berry protested the “Star-bangled Banner” at a qualifying event.
The news isn’t all bad for NBC; streaming numbers for the games are up.
From The Daily Wire:
“But NBC Sports said its online audience grew: The streaming audience on NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports app rose 72% over the opener of the 2016 games and 76% from the opening ceremony of the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics.”
However, the uptick in online viewing isn’t offsetting the loss of television viewers.
The Olympics used to be a time of unity for Americans.
But the country is the most divided it’s been in half a century.
Joe Biden and the Democrats call for unity, but every single tactic they deploy is divisive.
For example, Biden called benign voter ID laws enacted by Republican legislatures “Jim Crow 2.0.”
He also called the laws the greatest attack on Democracy since the Civil War.
The corporate press has tried to turn kneeling for the anthem an act of heroism.
It’s no wonder Americans aren’t enthusiastic to tune in for the games.
Sports entertainment hasn’t yet made a full recovery since the draconian COVID lockdowns.
A lot of fans realized they could do without sports, and their decision was made easier by athletes protesting against the country.
