The 2022 Beijing Olympics just finished, and they were more than underwhelming. They were held with out an audience and filled with unimpressive storylines. The usual star-power that makes the Olympics memorable was not on display at this year's Winter Games. One noteworthy contender, American skier Mikaela Shiffrin, fell in 3 out of 5 events and left the Games with no medals after winning 3 gold medals in prior Olympics. World Famous snowboarder Shaun White also failed to medal in this year's games. These are just some of the headlines that made the 2022 Winter Olympics go by with little attention from the general public.
"An average of 11.4 million viewers watched the Beijing Olympics on NBCUniversal platforms each night — the smallest prime-time audience on record for any Winter Games and well off the 19.8 million nightly viewers for the Pyeongchang Games in 2018...
Dramatic story lines proliferated during NBCUniversal’s 2,800 hours of coverage, but few catered to an audience that may have craved escapist forays and tales of triumph. Pandemic restrictions forced the competitions to take place in a bubble. The result: mostly empty stands, and NBC announcers such as Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski having to deliver their dispatches from a compound in Connecticut."
There were no familiar faces this year that frequent the medal stand every 4 years, no famous NHL players playing for their respective countries, and a major doping headline that is becoming all too common within the Olympic Games. So when someone asks why T.V. viewership of the Olympics is declining, there are the reasons. Overall, a majority of people enjoy following the feel-good stories that always come with Olympic athletes. This year, however, these stories were overridden by unfortunate events. The popularity of the Olympics is usually enjoyed by many across the world, and the Beijing Olympics did not live up to the standard.
The world is going through major social changes, and the Beijing Winter Olympics are another testament to it, which is how society consumes events, shows, movies, and news. With the chaos going on in today's world, things are everchanging, and television viewers is declining. However, streaming platforms are on the rise. The Olympics proved this by being the most streamed Winter Olympics ever. Although the Games and storylines were subpar, it is good to see that media companies are recognizing how people watch. This trend will continue in the next few years, and it won't be a surprise if streaming becomes the most popular way to watch the Olympics in the next 4-8 years.
I've never been someone who was super interested in the Olympics and would only watch them when they happened to be on TV or if my friends wanted to watch them. I only really got into them when there was someone who I could rally behind like a Shaun White who would invoke a little national pride when he medaled. The Olympics as a whole represent the pinnacle of athletic excellence and serve as the goal for many young athletes who want to be the "best in the world". For that reason I think they are nice event that we continue to hold, however, without those narratives like you said, the Cinderella stories, the started from nothings, the despite the…
The Olympics are definitely becoming a less widely viewed event, especially the Winter Olympics. It is great to see that some companies are picking up on the fact that consumers in America would prefer to stream the Olympics content. However there needs to be a clearer way for s=consumers to know how and when to watch their favorite sports during the Olympics. I have no doubt that this change will start to take place in the coming years but for now viewership and ratings will likely be down.