NBC’s Olympics ratings are down, substantially, from London, though they have improved each of the first three nights of prime time coverage.

Last night, the Olympics earned an 18.6 rating (total percentage of viewership) and 32 share (percentage of turned on TVs watching), which is down roughly 16% from the same night in London in 2012. That’s an improvement over the opening ceremony, which was down 33%, and Saturday night, which was down 28%. NBC, of course, is spinning all of this as a positive:

So what’s the problem?

Some thoughts:

  1. NBC will release digital numbers later today, and if the early returns from over the weekend are any indication, there are MASSIVE gains in streaming audiences– upwards of 263%. They will also release total consumption numbers later this week, combining all mediums. That will make things more respectable, but the digital consumption likely won’t completely close the gap from 2012.
  2. London’s opening ceremony drew a 23 rating, which is the highest over the last five Olympics. Beijing drew a 21.5. Rio’s 17.2 is the lowest, but on par with Athens (18.0) and Sydney (18.5). London had David Beckham driving a boat up the Thames and the Queen in a helicopter with James Bond. Rio had, uh, Giselle walking and the same projection system the Sixers use for their pre-game intros. London, as a host city – which is what the opening ceremony is really about – is a much bigger draw. Rio is an absolute mess, and the fact is there’s a much stronger connection among American viewers to England, its scenery and history than there is to Brazil. Add to that the fact that NBC unnecessarily delayed the broadcast by one hour, which was silly because it was so long to begin with that they probably lost more on the back end than they gained by pushing the start back an hour. The tape delay stripped out any drama – insofar as there could’ve been any drama – because any truly notable moments instantly went viral on Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat. And, despite the best efforts of NBC, the US marched in with the E’s (Estados Unidos), which had me almost set off an international incident with a Tweet jokingly complaining about Brazil stepping over the Wright Brothers and screwing up our alphabet. I eventually had to delete it after receiving THOUSANDS of Tweets containing Portugese curse words and a few terroristic threats over the course of the next few hours.
  3. The Sunday numbers are interesting because, last night, for my money, was very entertaining, with big names in action. You had consecutive World Records set in the pool, Michael Phelps and US men winning the relay, genuine drama between an American and Russian swimmer, and the women’s gymnastics team kicking everybody’s ass. And most of it was live, except for the gymnastics, which aired mostly after 11 p.m. NBC gets a bad wrap, but I thought last night was outstanding, as it was mostly devoid of fluff and contained some genuinely compelling content– as will be the case throughout the games since you have the perfect setup of live swimming or track and field, followed by tape delayed gymnastics or live beach volleyball.
  4. People are better able to see through NBC’s nonsense, hype, and promotion, and generally understand that the storylines emanating from it are self-serving for both the network and athletes involved. The innocence of the Olympic games are shot, and there will be countless eye-rolling moments over the next two weeks. As much as I love Michael Phelps, it’s hard to truly buy his redemption story, which led Matt Lauer to ask if his checking into a rehab facility was more of a PR play. Phelps is eager to get us to believe that he was suicidal because of… what… two DUIs? Come on. It makes for a nice story, but it’s hard to feel bad for Phelps, regardless of how embarrassed he might have been for a few months.
  5. The Rio factor had to play into this. The venues look like shit, the city looks like shit, and even the Copacabana beach scenes are mildly disappointing.

All in all, the 16% decline on Sunday night doesn’t seem that bad, and may not be much of a decline at all once NBC releases all the streaming numbers. But I’m fully in the camp that this sets up as the best prime time viewing experience in a long while. We get live swimming or track and field at 9 p.m every night. Beach volleyball is the perfect late-night sport. NBC couldn’t force the gymnastics into being live, but maybe they didn’t want them to be– that event is much more viewable when it can be edited into a coherent narrative (try watching the live stream and you’ll be wondering what is going on). The only issue will be on medal nights for the women, when it will be nearly impossible to avoid the results.

I know we all like to complain about broadcast TV, but the prime time Olympics coverage – especially being live – is the best way to consume the Olympics. Don’t get me wrong– the streaming options are great, but unless there’s a specific or notable event (women’s soccer, men’s basketball) you feel compelled to watch, the Olympics are much easier to digest when there’s some editing involved. And as of yet Bob Costas hasn’t come across as a total sanctimonious asshole.