It looks like NBC has a problem on their hands...
As viewership for the Tokyo Olympics continues to drop, advertisers have begun pulling out -- leaving the network struggling to recoup its losses -- industry officials say.
Monday's primetime coverage of the Olympics averaged 14.7 million viewers, marking a 49 percent drop compared to the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro, Nielsen reports. The number also represents a 53 percent drop from 2012's coverage of the London Olympics...
Photo: Getty Images AsiaPac
Photo: Getty Images
What's more, is that according to Nielsen, the Olympics' opening ceremony drew the smallest audience since the 1988 games in Seoul!
Brian Steinberg, a senior TV editor for Variety, says the loss of viewers has resulted in "advertiser anxiety," quoting one media buyer as saying the ratings "clearly are not what NBC, our agency or our clients were looking for."
"The size of the declines from the previous Rio Olympics have unnerved advertisers, who are believed to have invested more than $1.2 billion in the sports extravaganza," he wrote. "Little surprise, then, that NBCU and several media agencies have entered into discussions for ‘make goods,’ or ad inventory that is given to sponsors when a program fails to meet its original viewership guarantees."
Check out all of the details on Variety.